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Trump pardoned Joe Arpaio, Dinesh D'Souza, Bernie Kerik, Michael Flynn, Roger Stone and Paul Manafort. Given the lawfare that Republican courts have waged agai

Trump pardoned Joe Arpaio, Dinesh D'Souza, Bernie Kerik, Michael Flynn, Roger Stone and Paul Manafort. Given the lawfare that Republican courts have waged against Hunter, this seems like fair play, and very much in line with what Trump does.

wunderland 2y ago
What "lawfare"? How was Hunter unfairly targeted here?
- bediger4000 2y ago
  Oh come on. If Trump gets to plead lawfare, then Hunter certainly is a victim of it. Just to be generous, I'll cite Hunter Biden's plea deal that almost went through, but got rejected at the final moment. That's lawfare, plain and simple, a consequence of Republicans trying to do a Benghazi on Biden.
  - limit499karma 2y ago
    Another reading would see this "lawfare" narrative as a device to fool the citizenry. Both sides know they will get pardoned but by having "lawfare" give the impression (to the impressionable and propagandized public) that we do not have in this nation a ruling class that protects its own and does as it pleases.
- Terr_ 2y ago
  > I’m trying to imagine how I would have reacted if, back when I was a supervisor at the Southern District of New York, another prosecutor had come to me with this pitch: > "We’ve got this case on a guy who had a gun almost five years ago. He was a drug addict at the time, and he lied about that when he filled out some forms to buy the gun. He had the gun for 11 days, nobody ever fired it or used it to do anything, and it wound up getting tossed in a trash can. The guy has had major drug issues and ugly familial problems, but no prior convictions. " > I would have had two immediate questions. First: What’s the crime? Second: Don’t we have better things to do? https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/why-hunter-bidens-prosecution-doesnt-make-sense.html https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/why-hunter-bidens-pr...
  - osomco 2y ago
    [flagged]
  - harambae 2y ago
    > and he lied about that when he filled out some forms to buy the gun My cousin went to jail for 6 months for this exact crime and he’s neither famous nor connected to anyone. (Granted, they caught him at the time it didn’t take years.)
  - impossiblefork 2y ago
    The trash can bit is actually a bit scary though. It means he did not keep control of the weapon.
hypeatei 2y ago
Yep, it's time to stop taking the high road because republicans will ditch norms when it fits them anyway (see: Mitch Mcconnell in 2016 vs 2020 on supreme court picks) Dems are held to a higher standard both internally and by the media, but republicans can do/say crazy things without an ounce of accountability from anyone.
- sillyfluke 2y ago
  This line of thinking creates a vicious spiral straight to a banana republic. >but republicans can do/say crazy things without an ounce of accountability from anyone. some republicans campaign explicitly on reducing accountability and embracing nepotism, and when they deliver on those points their voters are hardly "shocked" because they advertised it from the get go. Many dems campaign on the high road, so no one should fault their voters if they feel betrayed and insulted when they go dark. This behavior is just a childish, "the assholes coming up behind me are going to cut the line, so why should I be the sucker? I'm gonna cut the line and get what's mine while I have the chance." As with the dumb election strategy of cozing up to establishment republicans: It's stupid because no one will want the fake ones (dems playing republicans) when they can get the original gangsters (republicans).
rvz 2y ago
> Trump pardoned.... This isn't the defense you think it is. The democrats should be taking the higher ground, but instead have become just as bad as Trump, especially after Joe Biden pardoning his own son after repeatedly saying that he would not, even for crimes Hunter admitted and pleaded guilty of.
- hypeatei 2y ago
  You're living in a different reality if you think taking the high ground is a winning strategy after watching the lies and insane conspiracies spread by MAGA for the past four years. Trump won the election. It's clear that campaigning on policy is not enough.
  - rvz 2y ago
    That doesn't pass as an excuse to lie to the people because Trump or someone else is also doing it. We have fact checkers for this regardless. The Democrats campaigned on being the better party, a new clean slate and to move on and persuaded voters to not vote for the convicted felon (Trump). Yet he still won the election. My point is Biden should have just told the press that he will pardon his son, instead of repeatedly saying that he would not and then goes and does it anyway. Is it fair to say that he lied to everyone and also what else are they lying to us about?
    - hypeatei 2y ago
      Sure, he lied. We're splitting hairs over something that was, in all reality, a targeted political attack on someone because their dad got elected. I would encourage you to read the press release. Hunter Biden got charged for something that almost no one else does (filling out a gun form incorrectly) There is no reason to invest this much effort into something so miniscule. It pales in comparison to the dangerous lies and behavior exhibited by MAGA (see: January 6th)
      - thunky 2y ago
        > got charged for something that almost no one else does (filling out a gun form incorrectly) Do you also feel that Trump's 34 felony convictions for filling out a form incorrectly were standard treatment? Also considering that this was after the normal statute of limitations expired and during the heat of a presidential campaign. Seems hypocritical to agree or disagree with one but not the other.
dredmorbius 2y ago
Not only fair play but preemptive protection against an autocrat whose threats against political rivals and their families is both long-standing and current. Against such telegraphed use of federal prosecutorial powers, presidential pardon is among the few absolutely robust defences.
archagon 2y ago
People are going to downvote this but it's the absolute truth. Trump's pardons of obvious criminals are as corrupt and transactional as you can get. In an alternate universe where rule of law actually mattered in the US, Biden should not (and probably would not) have done this, but I will not fault him for trying to protect his son from a fascist administration that's shrieking for revenge.
TiredOfLife 2y ago
The whole democrat shtick was that they are different from trump/republicans.
- slater 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - TiredOfLife 2y ago
    This comment under article about how you really didn't.

wunderland 2y ago

What "lawfare"? How was Hunter unfairly targeted here?

bediger4000 2y ago
Oh come on. If Trump gets to plead lawfare, then Hunter certainly is a victim of it. Just to be generous, I'll cite Hunter Biden's plea deal that almost went through, but got rejected at the final moment. That's lawfare, plain and simple, a consequence of Republicans trying to do a Benghazi on Biden.
- limit499karma 2y ago
  Another reading would see this "lawfare" narrative as a device to fool the citizenry. Both sides know they will get pardoned but by having "lawfare" give the impression (to the impressionable and propagandized public) that we do not have in this nation a ruling class that protects its own and does as it pleases.
Terr_ 2y ago
> I’m trying to imagine how I would have reacted if, back when I was a supervisor at the Southern District of New York, another prosecutor had come to me with this pitch: > "We’ve got this case on a guy who had a gun almost five years ago. He was a drug addict at the time, and he lied about that when he filled out some forms to buy the gun. He had the gun for 11 days, nobody ever fired it or used it to do anything, and it wound up getting tossed in a trash can. The guy has had major drug issues and ugly familial problems, but no prior convictions. " > I would have had two immediate questions. First: What’s the crime? Second: Don’t we have better things to do? https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/why-hunter-bidens-prosecution-doesnt-make-sense.html https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/why-hunter-bidens-pr...
- osomco 2y ago
  [flagged]
- harambae 2y ago
  > and he lied about that when he filled out some forms to buy the gun My cousin went to jail for 6 months for this exact crime and he’s neither famous nor connected to anyone. (Granted, they caught him at the time it didn’t take years.)
- impossiblefork 2y ago
  The trash can bit is actually a bit scary though. It means he did not keep control of the weapon.

hypeatei 2y ago

Yep, it's time to stop taking the high road because republicans will ditch norms when it fits them anyway (see: Mitch Mcconnell in 2016 vs 2020 on supreme court picks) Dems are held to a higher standard both internally and by the media, but republicans can do/say crazy things without an ounce of accountability from anyone.

sillyfluke 2y ago
This line of thinking creates a vicious spiral straight to a banana republic. >but republicans can do/say crazy things without an ounce of accountability from anyone. some republicans campaign explicitly on reducing accountability and embracing nepotism, and when they deliver on those points their voters are hardly "shocked" because they advertised it from the get go. Many dems campaign on the high road, so no one should fault their voters if they feel betrayed and insulted when they go dark. This behavior is just a childish, "the assholes coming up behind me are going to cut the line, so why should I be the sucker? I'm gonna cut the line and get what's mine while I have the chance." As with the dumb election strategy of cozing up to establishment republicans: It's stupid because no one will want the fake ones (dems playing republicans) when they can get the original gangsters (republicans).

rvz 2y ago

> Trump pardoned.... This isn't the defense you think it is. The democrats should be taking the higher ground, but instead have become just as bad as Trump, especially after Joe Biden pardoning his own son after repeatedly saying that he would not, even for crimes Hunter admitted and pleaded guilty of.

hypeatei 2y ago
You're living in a different reality if you think taking the high ground is a winning strategy after watching the lies and insane conspiracies spread by MAGA for the past four years. Trump won the election. It's clear that campaigning on policy is not enough.
- rvz 2y ago
  That doesn't pass as an excuse to lie to the people because Trump or someone else is also doing it. We have fact checkers for this regardless. The Democrats campaigned on being the better party, a new clean slate and to move on and persuaded voters to not vote for the convicted felon (Trump). Yet he still won the election. My point is Biden should have just told the press that he will pardon his son, instead of repeatedly saying that he would not and then goes and does it anyway. Is it fair to say that he lied to everyone and also what else are they lying to us about?
  - hypeatei 2y ago
    Sure, he lied. We're splitting hairs over something that was, in all reality, a targeted political attack on someone because their dad got elected. I would encourage you to read the press release. Hunter Biden got charged for something that almost no one else does (filling out a gun form incorrectly) There is no reason to invest this much effort into something so miniscule. It pales in comparison to the dangerous lies and behavior exhibited by MAGA (see: January 6th)
    - thunky 2y ago
      > got charged for something that almost no one else does (filling out a gun form incorrectly) Do you also feel that Trump's 34 felony convictions for filling out a form incorrectly were standard treatment? Also considering that this was after the normal statute of limitations expired and during the heat of a presidential campaign. Seems hypocritical to agree or disagree with one but not the other.

dredmorbius 2y ago

Not only fair play but preemptive protection against an autocrat whose threats against political rivals and their families is both long-standing and current. Against such telegraphed use of federal prosecutorial powers, presidential pardon is among the few absolutely robust defences.

archagon 2y ago

People are going to downvote this but it's the absolute truth. Trump's pardons of obvious criminals are as corrupt and transactional as you can get. In an alternate universe where rule of law actually mattered in the US, Biden should not (and probably would not) have done this, but I will not fault him for trying to protect his son from a fascist administration that's shrieking for revenge.

TiredOfLife 2y ago

The whole democrat shtick was that they are different from trump/republicans.

slater 2y ago
[flagged]
- TiredOfLife 2y ago
  This comment under article about how you really didn't.