A couple of more opinions come in concerning the Arpaio pardon. Steve Benen on MaddowBlog:
In case this isn’t obvious, a president isn’t supposed to intervene with the Justice Department about an ongoing criminal prosecution of someone the president likes. What’s more, note that Trump didn’t even bother to consult with his own Justice Department – or pay any attention to the department’s pardon protocols – before rescuing his right-wing pal who acted as if he were above the law.
There’s also the near future to consider. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is moving forward with his investigation into the Trump-Russia affair, and as of Friday night, everyone received a stark reminder that this president is comfortable abusing the powers of his office to keep his allies out of prison.
Indeed, it’s easy to imagine Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn waking up on Saturday morning with a spring in their step. After all, in Donald Trump’s America, loyalty to the law is nice, but loyalty to the president is almost literally a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Trump has told a staggering number of lies since entering politics, but his vow to restore “law and order” may be the most painfully ridiculous of them all. It’s difficult to guess where this story goes next, but let’s not forget that as recently as last month, the president reportedly sought information on his power to issue pardons to White House aides, members of his family, and even himself.
Making “law and order” into a ridiculous proposition in order to pardon a law and order sheriff does have a certain irony to it, but I suspect that’s lost on most Trump supporters. Not that they lack a sense of humor, but they don’t have the knowledge base to realize just what’s going on.
The Editors of National Review also disapprove, but cannot resist irrelevant digs at their favorite voodoo dolls:
We are mindful of the hypocrisy of the Left regarding abuse of the president’s constitutional pardon power. President Clinton put it on sale for the benefit of donors and cronies. President Obama used it to effectively rewrite Congress’s narcotics statutes, for the benefit of drug felons and in circumvention of his duty to execute the laws faithfully. Both commuted the sentences of anti-American terrorists from the FALN and the Weathermen. These were disgraceful acts.
But that past doesn’t make Trump’s pardon any less objectionable. Trump acted for the benefit of a political crony, just like Clinton. He did it — just like Clinton — outside the Justice Department’s pardon process. While presidents have the authority to go around DOJ, the regular process is in place to ensure that presidents make fully informed pardon decisions. To short-circuit the standard procedure is to consciously avoid facts that might show that clemency is unwarranted.
These superfluous shots at opponents tends to dilute their outrage and makes it seem as if all the politicians are equally bad – a deft sleight of hand of which they should be ashamed. I think most serious commentators would agree that Trump is way beyond most elected politicians, and is unique among those with him amount of power, in his failure to responsibly manage his position. To imply otherwise, simply to maintain one’s menacing posture against ideological opponents, is dishonest and actually fairly dangerous.
