Glenn Greenwald: GOP senators threatened to convict Trump if he pardoned Snowden, Assange

Substack ^ | Jan 8 | Glenn Greenwald

[RandFan]

...

They were making very clear to him explicitly clear Republican senators like Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio and Mitch McConnell that if you do any of those things that you are considering doing, pardoning Assange and Snowden, declassifying JFK files, declassifying other secrets that should have been declassified long ago because they're from decades old treachery on the part of the US government, we will vote to impeach you. They had this leverage the sword of Damocles hanging over his head, and I am not saying this to justify Trump's cowardly refusal to do what he should have done in pardoning Edward Snowden, then Julian Assange. Candace Owens was right in that video that he should have and that if she were in his position, she would have. I'm just

I'm explaining what I know happened, which is that all signs are pointing in the direction of him pardoning Snowden, for sure. And maybe Assange. And then suddenly this preposterous impeachment proceeding to impeach a president who was on his way out anyway, emerged precisely because it gave them the leverage to threaten Trump and say that they would convict him if he did any of those things.

And that is why he left office without doing what you can tell from that video he knows he should have done. He's very sheepish, very uncharacteristically timid about explaining why he didn't. "Oh, I was just too nice. I was just too nice. I'm known for being too nice."

That wasn't the reason. The reason was, because he was afraid of those Republican threats to convict him.

[Colo9250]

Sorry, I won’t play your game but go ahead and vote for someone you hate (Rubio).

[Fester Chugabrew]

Exactly. Shine a light, execute the office justly and pronptly, and let the consequences flow.

[proust]

Who was driving the Trump administration “bus”?

[Hieronymus]

That seems possible—but risking becoming a martyr in this way, and possibly becoming a martyr in this way, might have gone farther in draining the swamp than the course adopted.

But who am I to judge?

[Chickensoup]

Who was driving the Trump administration “bus”?

________________

Obama and his minions, that is why this is the Obama Administration’s fourth term

[proust]

Makes sense, sadly.

[Hieronymus]

The worst?

That Deep State ordered Kennedy whacked.

I’ve thought that for a while now.

---

With LBJ at least complicit, Bush actively involved, and Warren abating after the fact.

And Reagan was saddled with Bush.

And Fidel is Justin’s Dad (I’m posting from Canada).

These things not only do not seem as strange as they once did, trying to make sense of the world without them is at times an effort.

[sauropod]

.

[mass55th]

"Every few days I’m reminded why I left the GOP shortly after J6 and registered Independent."

Ditto. I'm contemplating removing my name completely from the voter rolls. I don't believe there will ever be another honest election in this country. I live in New York State, so its not as if my vote counts anyway.

[americas.best.days...]

There are many great posts on this thread, but yours really nails it. It’s also explains why its absurd for folks to want Ron Desantis to leave his fabulous governorship in Florida for the presidency.

We’ve all been sadly enlightened on how or country really operates. Going forward, the only reasonable path is to shore up red areas. It’s now all about school boards, city/county councils, Sheriffs, state legislatures, governors.

Can conservatives for once DO something, take action, instead of hanging back and waiting to respond to the leftist hoards?

[proust]

Point taken, but Desantis is proving that he can work within the FL swamp and STILL bring back solid victories instead of weak compromises.

[Starboard]

We’ve all been sadly enlightened on how or country really operates.

****************

At the risk of sounding like a mutual admiration society you likewise made a very profound point: the rising awareness that our country has become a kleptocracy. There’s no denying it anymore. The District of Corruption is running the country for its own benefit.

The first step toward improving things is recognizing the problem. I think more and more of us have finally come to accept the fact that our beloved country and its principles have been hijacked by corrupt elites and their broad array of allies in every institution in the country.

They grew like a cancer and we did little to nothing to stop it. (One reason we didn’t is because we don’t have a real party fighting for us.) But now many of our fellow countrymen are noticing what’s going on and the elites are getting very nervous about it. I would be too if I was one of them.

The next step is to start funding and electing decent, courageous people who are committed to arresting the decline of this once great country and getting rid of the liars, crooks and backstabbers who are destroying it.

We need to go on offense because its hard to win at anything when you’re always playing defense. Its time we start putting points on the board.

[G Larry]

Destruction of trust in CIA, FBI, & DoD.

As well as the "Military/Industrial Complex". For decades I dismissed this concern of Ike's, but now in retirement from 45 years in the "complex", I'm beginning to see that it is real.

[StAnDeliver]

"Ref the January 6 protesters, you don’t need to be arrested or charged in any way to receive a pardon. He didn’t do so because his orders were no liver being followed."

Mmm. Liver.

I said, "blanket pardon". The very definition of a "blanket pardon" is no present charges are needed. That goes all the way back to Blackstone.

Let's back up a year and a minute. How many tourists were actually arrested on the day of Jan6?

Only 14!

Not many more by Jan20, and only one felony charge.

So the breadth of the tourists/offenses/eventual charges, was barely known by the time of the puppet-state installation.

Asking Trump to gamble on a "blanket pardon" that many -- literally hundreds -- of the Federal judiciary would have fought each other in the street to be the first to suspend/injunct/void the "blanket pardon" the next week if not the next day, is in retrospect unlikely to have prevailed, and instead would have been met with a two-headed counter-attack:

• The first attack from the Left would have been to challenge a "blanket pardon" for lack of a “specificity requirement,” or iow, failing to enumerate the offenses pardoned. This is the exact tack the Left leaked that they fully pre-planned to do if Trump "blanket pardoned" his family or anyone in his Administration before Jan20.

• The second attack would have been the #MSM ginning a #Narrative to draw parallels between Ford's pardon of Nixon ruining Ford's chances in 1976 (and it did) and making sure any "blanket pardon" tar-babied Trump in identical fashion (and it would have).

[jjotto]

https://thereconstructionera.com/andrew-johnson-issues-christmas-amnesty-pardoning-former-confederates-for-treason-on-dec-25-1868/

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-170-granting-pardon-all-persons-participating-the-late-rebellion-except-those

[DesertRhino]

It doesn’t matter. You don’t have to be charged to be pardoned. The fact is that he was no longer in power, in reality. He was not free to exercise the powers of president and was only allowed to sit quietly and do a few trivial tasks they allowed so they could pretend they did not conduct a coup.

Jan 6 actually scared them. It let them know everyone knew they stole the election. And they are still scared America might come back ready for a true fight.

[Magnatron]

Trump’s got a TON of work to do on his first week in.

I’m hoping he doesn’t wimp out like the last time…

[Nailbiter]

flr

[Trump Girl Kit Cat]

IF Trump should regain the WH Bannon is working on having 4,000 MAGA people ready to go in with him!! The people surrounding him this time around will NOT be DEEP STATE!! Trump also NEEDS to rid himself of Jared and Ivanka BAD MOVE on hs part!!