• Billiam
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    2266 months ago

    Remember: no Republicans are arguing Trump didn’t break the law.

    They’re arguing he shouldn’t be punished for it.

    • @rayyy
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      566 months ago

      They’re arguing he shouldn’t be punished for it

      They are really arguing that all Republicans shouldn’t be punished but if you aren’t in the club you get the full blast of the law.

    • @Broken_Monitor
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      116 months ago

      Yea I think he has to be found guilty of the crime to be pardoned, right?

      • Kairos
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        56 months ago

        I think you have to admit guilt? Which is bullshit because the purpose of a pardon isnt to get guilty people off but to act as a check against judicial power. I’m not sure though.

        • @cogman
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          6 months ago

          Nope.

          A pardon stops all punishment from the judicial system. You don’t have to plead guilty and criminal proceedings stop. A pardon further undoes any legal handicap (for example, you can own firearms again).

          That said, if you accept a pardon you can’t plead the fifth when it comes to details related to the crime you’ve committed.

          There’s also a commutation, which is weaker than a pardon. Instead of having the crime fully forgiven you are simply let out of jail with the understanding you committed the crime and must face follow up consequences (like not being able to own firearms).

          Finally, there are also conditional pardons. Those are ones where the president could impose a “you must plead guilty” style rule before the pardon can be applied. He could also apply a rule that says “you must perform 10 jumping jacks”.

          Pardon powers are some of the most broad we have in the US.

          About the only limitation is you can’t pardon for future crimes.

          • Billiam
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            6 months ago

            About the only limitation is you can’t pardon for future crimes.

            Yeah, you really want Roberts’ SCOTUS to rule on that?

              • Billiam
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                46 months ago

                Damnit, that’s what I typed but I guess it got autocorrected. Thanks!

        • @wolfpack86
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          26 months ago

          I think you’re remembering some instance where a pardon can expose the recipient to civil liability. Or at least it was theorized it might…

          Bannon, stone or one of them.

  • @meeeeetch
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    1586 months ago

    Ford was, based on the behavior of the Reagan, W Bush, and Trump administrations, entirely wrong to pardon Nixon. There is no reason to repeat his mistake.

  • theprogressivist
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    6 months ago

    And there ya go groveling to your orange master, Romney. What a spineless bitch.

  • @elbucho
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    1056 months ago

    Well, not that we needed one, but I really appreciate you giving us a reminder for why we should never ever make you president, Mittens. It’s very thoughtful of you.

    • The Snark Urge
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      216 months ago

      Don’t worry, at some point he’ll say one normal thing and people will remark on how he’s so reasonable compared to the others.

      • @elbucho
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        296 months ago

        It is true, though. If he were to run for president, he’d be the best candidate the Republican party has put forward in 2 decades. And he’s still a gigantic piece of shit.

        • The Snark Urge
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          96 months ago

          The smallest coil of shit turned out onto the chests of voters in decades!

          • @elbucho
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            66 months ago

            You certainly have a way with words, my friend.

            • The Snark Urge
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              36 months ago

              Flame wars must be, while we defend our lives against a butthole who would devour all; but I do not love the quip for its sharpness, nor the meme for its oddly specific irony, nor the troll for his lulz; I love only that which they defend

        • @[email protected]
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          36 months ago

          There’s a Netflix documentary called “Mitt” that follows him and his family throughout his 2012 run. I took two things away:

          • It helped humanize Mitt a lot, such as loving a beat up, old pair of winter gloves
          • I’m glad he was never President, and should never be President
      • @[email protected]
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        16 months ago

        He has a punch card that Moscow Mitch gave him. He gets to say 1 reasonable thing every 3 months and punch the card every time. Once the card is full he gets his Russian check for doing his duty to make the party look normal and reasonable without ever having to vote reasonably. If he actually votes reasonably he has to give the card back and can’t get his check.

  • @A_Random_Idiot
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    6 months ago

    Romney again trying to ride both dicks at the same time.

    I, for one, am sick of this whole “Oh lets pardon the past president to protect the institution of presidency”

    Presidents should not be above the law. They are not gods, they are not kings, they are elected as representatives.

    especially when the one in question turned the white house into a goddamn criminal enterprise

    • @[email protected]
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      106 months ago

      Seriously, I don’t know why so many people get this wrong!

      We give guns to our cops to enforce the laws, and we should have higher expectations for the handling of their weapon than random schmuck off the street licensed gun owner.

      We give the military and various other resources and powers to the President to execute the laws. They should also be held to an even higher standard! A bad guy as President can do a million times as much damage than they can as a cop.

      • @A_Random_Idiot
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        56 months ago

        Agree. These people are given the public trust. betraying the public trust should result in severe punishment. More severe than a random schmuck doing the same act, cause that random schmuck wasnt given the public trust and the power of authority.

        • @Jimmyeatsausage
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          26 months ago

          But then the people who want to use that public trust for personal gain won’t want to run for office! Then what!?!

          • @A_Random_Idiot
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            26 months ago

            I know you are joking, but you have no idea how many times i’ve heard legitimate arguments like that…especially with regards to police.

    • @sudo42
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      36 months ago

      I, for one, am sick of this whole “Oh lets pardon the past president to protect the institution of presidency”

      You know how we protect the institution of the presidency? We stop having presidents that break the law.

      Agreed. I too am so sick of this ass-kissing authoritarian BS. They’re not kings. They served in an office and now they’re out. They’re humans FFS.

  • Flying Squid
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    786 months ago

    Maybe the ex-president shouldn’t have been such a criminal, Mitt.

  • @Phegan
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    526 months ago

    Mitt Romney is an idiot

      • @guacupado
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        66 months ago

        I guess we shouldn’t allow any more new people to start commenting.

        • Todd Bonzalez
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          6 months ago

          I have contributed more comments to the community in my 8 days here than this clown has in 7 months.

          More than half of their comments are just failed call outs to new accounts. One comment a week, and this is what they bring to the table.

        • @swallowyourmind
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          -16 months ago

          We absolutely should!

          How is welcoming someone for being new a bad thing?

  • @LEDZeppelin
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    446 months ago

    And this guy is supposed to be the “moderate” GOP. Crooks and liars all the way down their bones.

  • @someguy3
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    406 months ago

    Just when you thought he wasn’t half bad.

    • themeatbridge
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      266 months ago

      Anybody who thought that was half stupid.

  • @hark
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    376 months ago

    Shut up romney.

  • @AA5B
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    366 months ago

    I can see discussion if he committed crimes related to being in office, that time was past, and we wanted the country to move forward, but none of that is true. Trump is finally facing justice for crimes throughout hiss adult life and he’s trying to skip justice to gain the presidency. This is not the Nixon situation. Even worse, Romney reasons it “to be a bigger man”, wtf, this isn’t just play acting as part of the presidential campaign

    • @[email protected]
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      186 months ago

      And pardoning Nixon just set the stage for Republicans continuing to commit crimes while or in order to get into office.

    • @[email protected]
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      156 months ago

      If you want to see how bad stuff gets for someone constantly trying to stay in power to avoid jail time, all you have to do is look at Netanyahu

  • Jimmybander
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    306 months ago

    Presidents should be prosecuted for crimes. They are not Kings and Queens.

      • @dufkm
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        56 months ago

        Louis XVI was prosecuted and found guilty of high treason and crimes against the state by the National Convention during the French revolution, so it does happen from time to time.

    • @dufkm
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      36 months ago

      They are not Kings and Queens

      I understand the sentiment, but I hate this phrase. If any of the e.g. Scandinavian royals would exhibit this kind of behaviour and lawlessness, the monarchy would be dismantled in a heartbeat. It’s mostly for show, and the monarchy only exists for as long as the people want it to.

  • @[email protected]
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    286 months ago

    Well, Trump could just try not being a criminal if they care so much about prosecuting an ex-president

    • @mPony
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      36 months ago

      When you think the law doesn’t apply to you then of course you’d think you can do anything you wanted and never be a criminal.