Discussion: WH Spox: I'd 'Imagine' We'd Go Through Full DOJ Process On Arpaio Pardon

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Iā€™d ā€œimagineā€ that Sarah Huckabee Sanders is ditsy and embarrassing as hell.

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ā€œI would imagine theyā€™d go through the thorough and standard processā€¦"

I would imagine the President of the United States would be sane, instead of a diseased, pant-shatting lunatic.

Isnā€™t imagination fun!

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Did anybody tell her what the full DOJ process requires? Maybe somebody should direct her to the DOJā€™s FAQ document.

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Process and White House are mutually exclusive terms, FWIW.

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What the fuck does that mean? Anything regarding a presidential pardon from the DOJ is advisory only.

They can tell him that he canā€™t, but that only means heā€™ll be more likely to do it than not.

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Translation: Thereā€™s a process? So ā€¦ no pardon by tweet then?

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Crap. Who let Trump in on the fact that he can pardon people? Weā€™ll never get that toothpaste back in the tube.

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People who are going to prison if Trump doesnā€™t pardon them before he gets Twenty-Fifthed.

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Pardoning a law officer for violating citizens constitutional rights is more than a slippery slope. Itā€™s stepping off a cliff. Dangerous people making dangerous decisions in a dangerous time.

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I think chances are very good that if he does pardon Arpaio, that wonā€™t be the end of it; it will go to court. Itā€™s a violation of separation of powers, in my opinion.

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Itā€™s pretty clear whatā€™s going to happen. Trumpā€™s plan to survive Muellerā€™s investigation is to divide this country, and to keep his rabid base beside him. The reason Trump didnā€™t pardon Arpaio when he gave his speech in Phoenix is because he had already planned the transgender military ban to be his red meat of the week. When the right time comes, Arpaioā€™s pardon will be one of the steaks Trump tosses to his lunatic supporters.

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Full process takes a long time and requires statement admitting guilt and claim you changed your wicked ways. This idiot could vapor lock if he had to say he was guilty, it would be great tv though.is that not the new standard? We must look at everything with the lens of ratings and a TV reality tv producer.

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You know, somehow, the fact that that is the real outrage, the real danger, here had eluded me. I guess itā€™s because I had gotten so used to thinking of Arpaio as a gangster that I really didnā€™t even think of him as a real law enforcement officer and thus pardoning him would be just like pardoning any other hood.

But what youā€™ve now focused me on is that the pardon power has always had the potential to turn into the Constitutionā€™s self-destruct button. One thing Trump has done is force us to recognize a thing we never noticed before: that there are large number of sweeping and potentially dangerous powers a president has that were checked only by the votersā€™ ability to recognize a madman and not make him the president. And now that that check has failed (due to that other little oopsie, the electoral college), itā€™s scary.

But this one is really scary. The pardon power could be used to completely sweep away the rule of law and bring on storm trooper impunity. What does habeas corpus mean when a president can just pardon people for refusing to release the illegally detained? What does the law mean when he can pardon people for summary execution?

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Only if Congress and the Courts stand around and do nothing and so far that has not been the case. The checks have checked him and the balance may be off, but itā€™s not off by that much.

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One of the people most in need of one: Jared.

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Yeah, there is the ā€œcanā€™t use it as a ā€˜get out of impeachment freeā€™ā€ card provision and untested legal argument that he canā€™t pardon himself. So at least weā€™ve got that going for us, which is great.

I donā€™t think he can pardon Arpaio either.

The courts shut down the Muslim ban quickly. Congress is busy passing bipartisan legislation to stop him from firing Mueller, they stopped him from making recess appointments, Iā€™m leaving stuff out, but so far it seems to me that the constitution is still in force and effect.

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But Iā€™ll lay you odds that there will be a lot of tests to come. Some members of Congress, some Cabinet secretaries, and some judges are going to have to experience a ā€œcome to Jesusā€ moment, and stop enabling this clown.

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I agree things are not ideal and itā€™s always dangerous when the GOP runs two branches of government.

Iā€™m just pointing out the reality so far - Iā€™m not speculating on most of that - it has happened.