Trump Pardons Arpaio

[ordnance11]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pos ... c756d18d63
[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/08/25/trump-pardons-controversial-former-arizona-sheriff-joe-arpaio/?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_arpaio-830pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.69c756d18d63][/url]

You have to be kidding me. After Charlottesville  , it's evident on whose side Trump is on. The racist and the bigots. His staff knows the outcry this is going to happen. Did it on a Friday night as well. Kinda tells me they know what sort of reaction this is going to take form.__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

[Labster]

Well, he fired Sebastian Gorka today too.  So maybe this is cover for that, at least among the Breitbart crowd.

Of course there was also a cat 4 hurricane hitting Texas today.  Maybe his staff gave him the pardon to do so he didn't interfere in the disaster response.-- ?×V

[robkelk]

If they want him too busy to get in the way of real work, send him on a goodwill tour of US dependencies or get him to open some museums or do something else that won't have lasting repercussions.--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Black Aeronaut]

Nah, this is all part of the GOP's objective to oppress hispanics as much as possible.  </sarcasm>

[ordnance11]

Well Trump setting up a test case for pardoning himself if and when Mueller finds dirt on him.__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

[Labster]

On reflection, this is probably the worst thing Trump has done yet.  Joe Arpaio is a law enforcement person who broke the law, and then was ordered by the courts to stop breaking the law.   And then he kept doing it, so they had a trial and a conviction on contempt of court.  And Trump swoops in and says "lol nope", and pardons his friend because they agree on politics.  And that politics is the politics of racism.

The takeaway here is that he's basically telling law enforcement across the country that they are above the law, and that law enforcement based on racial animus is not a crime.  He is stripping the court's powers to enforce laws, if ignoring a court order is not criminal behavior.  Seriously, it's pretty bad guys.  Greatly weakening the social fabric just to save one old dude six months in jail.  As always Trump only sees the immediate results.

This may not fit the lawbook definition of obstruction of justice, but it sure feels like obstruction of justice.  Like obstruction of the concept of justice itself.-- ?×V