Jonathan Chait: “Trump has already used his pardon power liberally to reward political allies, pardoning right-wing heroes like Joe Arpaio, Conrad Black, and Dinesh D’Souza. Last spring, CNN reported that Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer dangled a pardon in front of Michael Cohen if he would perjure himself to protect Trump. The implicit (or possibly explicit) promise of a pardon has likely encouraged Roger Stone and Paul Manafaort — the two Trump agents in most direct contact with Russia’s election operation — to withhold cooperation from the Mueller probe, thereby permitting Trump’s campaign to avoid conspiracy charges.”
“But the presidential pardon’s truly fearsome power is its potential to not only protect past crimes but to enable new ones. The pardon authority is a kind of wormhole in the Constitution that opens up absolute impunity from the law for the president and his supporters. Once he has crossed this threshold unpunished, every subsequent violation will just be a matter of detail.”
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