Donald Trump caught dangling pardons to entice his immigration officials to break the law
When Kirstjen Nielsen was ousted as Homeland Security Director this past week because she was only willing to commit atrocities against immigrants that wouldn’t result in her going to prison, it raised the question of what that means for her replacement. It turns out we’re already getting the answer – and it’s a particularly ugly one.
Donald Trump picked Border Patrol boss Kevin McAleenan to be his new acting head of Homeland Security. Trump then told his border agents to illegally block asylum seekers from entering the United States – and Trump told McAleenan that he would pardon him if the move resulted in McAleenan being arrested. This is according to CNN’s Jake Tapper, who is citing multiple senior Trump regime officials. No one involved seemed sure how serious Trump was about it, and McAleenan is claiming it never happened.
Nonetheless, the mere mention of a pardon as an enticement to law breaking is a crime on Donald Trump’s part, and an impeachable one. It’s the latest reminder that Trump is completely and purposefully out of control, he has no interest in the law or the Constitution, and he’s perfectly willing to grossly abuse his powers in order to make it easier for his regime to break the law.
Suffice it to say that when House Democrats bring impeachment charges against Donald Trump, this dangled pardon will be one of them. Impeachment is a slow and complex process that has to be done in a very strategic way if the end goal is to successfully oust a sitting president. But it’s more clear than ever that Trump is intent on forcing the issue. He either wants to be impeached, or he’s too drunk with power to understand that he can be impeached. Either way, House Democrats must act soon. This is escalating into a crisis beyond words.
