GAETEN: Trump Self-Pardon is a Trap

Animals,

I had our contributor GAETEN DUGAS give his take on why he has procrlaimed that:

To bet YES on this:

GAETEN’S TAKE:

“I initially sold out of my Yes position based on reporting that Trump was considering doing it in secret.

I'm out. This makes it less likely that we find out about it if Trump does it. It's the best of both worlds for Trump. If he issues the pardon and doesn't tell anyone, the DOJ won't target him and if they eventually charge him, he can use it then. 1/2https://t.co/iDU0JG661X
— Gaeten Dugas (@GaetenD) January 17, 2021

I don't know how the administrative details of this would work, but I'd think as long as Trump issues it while he is president, it would be valid regardless of whether it's on the website or not. The Constitution doesn't say it has to be on that website to be valid Lost $149. 2/2
— Gaeten Dugas (@GaetenD) January 17, 2021

“Since that’s something unprecedented, I didn’t want to be betting on how it would be handled:

4. Knowing that Trump thinks he needs a pardon will make the DOJ assume he committed crimes.
5. A pardon is worthless to Trump unless he is charged.
6. Nobody knows if courts will find secret pardons valid.
7. If Trump is never charged, he'll never have to reveal his pardon.2/x
— Gaeten Dugas (@GaetenD) January 18, 2021

But if he doesn't get charged, nothing happens. It's like a shield that he only uses if he needs it. And if he doesn't, nobody needs to know. The risk is if somehow the courts find a self pardon valid but a secret pardon not valid. Seems worth the risk for all the benefits. 5/5
— Gaeten Dugas (@GaetenD) January 18, 2021

But then subsequent reporting indicated he’s not planning on doing it.“

Sources with knowledge of the process tell @FoxNews that President Trump is NOT EXPECTED to issue "protective" pardons to members of his family, and is NOT expected to attempt a protective pardon for himself.
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) January 18, 2021

KEENDAWG: sounds pretty simple to me. But don’t forget to listen to our podcast on this Self-Pardon subject: