The president's pardon power is so ill-defined, that might actually be legal. No one has so blatantly put it to the test before in 250 years, so we dont actually know.
The conservative supreme court did rule that bribery is only bribery if you explicitly state "i am bribing you for this, with this" which makes a lot of sense when you see how many times Clarence Thomas has gotten "free loans" and "here's a house, some tuition and some vacations, pal" in his career. Not to mention the slightly lesser grifts by Roberts and Alito.
Since the 2mil was for an "audience" and not a pardon, I bet it actually wasent illegal. Just deeply, deeply immoral and "should be illegal, but the conservatives on the high court are on the take" so its not.
No, it would be illegal if the intent was clear. All the communications beforehand would establish that a pardon is needed. Things are not actually negotiated with a wink and nod.
The president's pardon power is so ill-defined, that might actually be legal. No one has so blatantly put it to the test before in 250 years, so we dont actually know.
The conservative supreme court did rule that bribery is only bribery if you explicitly state "i am bribing you for this, with this" which makes a lot of sense when you see how many times Clarence Thomas has gotten "free loans" and "here's a house, some tuition and some vacations, pal" in his career. Not to mention the slightly lesser grifts by Roberts and Alito.
Since the 2mil was for an "audience" and not a pardon, I bet it actually wasent illegal. Just deeply, deeply immoral and "should be illegal, but the conservatives on the high court are on the take" so its not.
No, it would be illegal if the intent was clear. All the communications beforehand would establish that a pardon is needed. Things are not actually negotiated with a wink and nod.