Donald Trump is about to make a huge mistake with Michael Flynn
Let us wretched, tattered souls hope with all our might that Donald Trump continues to be the rampaging imbecile we all know him to be, for it is perhaps this singular fact that might let us see the light again.
Last Thursday, Trump tweeted the following: “General Michael Flynn, the 33 year war hero who has served with distinction, has not retained a good lawyer, he has retained a GREAT LAWYER, Sidney Powell. Best Wishes to them both!” Naturally, speculation of a pardon went rampant. Trump is one-dimensional to an extent that is remarkable, and so this praise of Flynn and his lawyer is probably exactly what it looks like. I, for one, hope Trump pardons Flynn. Here’s why you should too.
By law, a person is allowed to invoke his or her fifth amendment right to avoid self-incrimination in testimony, subpoena or not. If said person is pardoned, however, there remains no ability to self-incriminate, because he or she has been pardoned of the crime and is therefore immune from conviction. This means that if Flynn is pardoned, the House could subpoena Mike Flynn for the whole world to hear about his wrongdoings apropos to the greater Trump sphere. Sure, Flynn would dodge what I can only assume is some exceedingly well-deserved prison time, but if it means parlaying that into a televised story time about Trump’s shifty Russian dealings, I would be willing to make the sacrifice.
Either Trump doesn’t have the faintest idea what a pardon for Flynn could do to him, or he thinks he could pardon Flynn and somehow protect him from being compelled to testify. Either way, I hope a pardon is in the works. Flynn already pleaded guilty to a number of crimes in order to satisfy the terms of his plea bargain, crimes that were sufficiently abhorrent to presiding US District Judge Emmet Sullivan so as to elicit his ire and question the federal prosecutors on the case as to whether or not Flynn’s conduct could be tried as treason, to which the prosecutors didn’t explicitly say “no.” You want to pardon Flynn, Donald? Be my guest.
Democracy thrives in snarkiness