The rumor that President Trump may pardon freshly convicted peace officer Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, AZ, has brought forth some political analysis from former White House Counsel Bob Bauer on Lawfare. I particularly like how this could leave the Department of Justice in knots, as it would prepare the papers and attempt a justification:
It is very difficult to imagine that Attorney General Sessions would recommend a pardon of a law enforcement officer convicted of willfully and openly flouting a federal court order. And Mr. Sessions’s disinclination to give his boss cover would be all the greater in a case involving racial profiling, defiance of constitutional limits on local law enforcement, unprofessional conduct over an extended period of years, and to this day, the prospective pardon recipient’s refusal to accept responsibility for his acts.
The White House Counsel preparing the pardon papers would also need to labor hard, and would inevitably fail, to to bring this potential grant within the accepted norms for the grant of pardons. Among the more conventional considerations: the case is fresh, and with Arpaio’s lawyers readying the appeal of a decision issued in July, the president would be intervening in the middle of a legal proceeding yet to run its course. If Trump just jumps in and by executive fiat ends the matter, a pardon will have every appearance of being direct interference in the administration of justice. In his capacity as the Chief Executive, the President has already had exceptional difficulty grasping and respecting the independent and impartial operation of federal law enforcement. With this act, Mr. Trump dramatically escalates the assault on these limits.
Does Trump hate these limits, or is Trump totally ignorant? Well, neither, actually – he’s just playing to his base, his last defense against oblivion. Bauer continues with an eye to the future:
And while the president may well get away with the specific act of pardoning Arpaio, this action will not be without effect on future calls for impeachment. Unlike a pardon of himself, family members, or aides in the Russia matter, pardoning Arpaio would probably not result in the immediate demand for an impeachment inquiry. If, however, impeachment pressure increases, or a formal impeachment inquiry is launched on the basis of Russian “collusion,” obstruction, or on other grounds, an Arpaio pardon in the background will be highly damaging to the President’s position. It will immeasurably strengthen the hand of those arguing that Donald Trump does not have the requisite respect for the rule of law, or an understanding of the meaning of his constitutional oath, to be entrusted with the presidency.
A good reminder that impeachment is not about normal crimes, but suitability for the Presidency.
