Banana Republicans

19 February 2020

 

Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

Trump Pardons Pals

 

The Trump administration has long had many of the hallmarks of a banana republic. The cult of personality at the top, the distain for the rule of law and of administrative norms, and the preference for loyalty over competence spring to mind. Yesterday, on a whim it appears, the president pardoned or granted clemency to very high-profile and corrupt individuals further adding to this sorry situation. These include former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, disgraced and incompetent New York Police Commissioner Bernie Kerick, junk-bond inside trader Mike Milken, and ex-NFL team owner Edward DeBartolo. The lesson is that if one is in deep trouble, one should get Fox News to cover the "unfairness" of being held accountable and donate as much money as possible to the president's coffers.

Mr. Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. He was governor when Illinois Senator Barack Obama became president. The state constitution says the governor gets to appoint someone to take a vacant senate seat. Mr. Blagojevich tried to sell the seat. A jury also convicted him of trying to shake down the head of a charity for sick kids. But, the governor had also been on Mr. Trump's TV show "Celebrity Apprentice." Ms. Blagojevich pleaded her husband's case on Fox News. So, the president commuted his sentence.

Meanwhile, Bernie Kerik was a crooked cop in New York who pled guilty to 8 felonies including tax evasion and lying to investigators. He served 39 months of a 48-month sentence and five months' home confinement thereafter, which ended in October 2016. The president pardoned the pal of his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. Fortunately, the State of New York convicted him of crimes as well, and the pardon does not erase those. He remains a convicted felon in the eyes of the people whose tax dollars used to pay his salary.

Mr. Milken, along with Ivan Boesky, was one of the great inside-traders of the 1980s. As the New York Times noted, "Mr. Milken, whose dealings contributed to the collapse of the savings-and-loan industry, fought for decades to reverse his conviction for securities fraud. Richard LeFrak, a billionaire real estate magnate and longtime friend; Sheldon G. Adelson, a prominent Republican donor; and Nelson Peltz, a billionaire investor who hosted a $10 million fund-raiser for the president's 2020 campaign on Saturday, were among those who suggested that Mr. Trump pardon him." A $10 million fund-raiser certainly helped.

Mr. DeBartolo got two years' probation and paid a $1 million fine in the 1998. The NFL further made him give up the ownership of the San Francisco 49ers to his sister. His crime was failing to report a felony after he had paid Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards $400,000 for a gambling license. Mr. Trump always wanted an NFL team. Indeed, he owned the New Jersey/New York Generals of the USFL, an up-start league he hoped would eventually merger with the NFL. Mr. DeBartolo was a special guest at the inauguration and got recommendations from football legends like Jerry Rice, the kind of people Mr. Trump admires.

Mr. Trump would love to have been an editor at the ancient gladiator games in Rome. Giving a thumbs up or down, deciding who lives and dies based on the way he feels at the moment gives him a power high. In the process, he is making a mockery of the American legal system. He is transforming Justice to Just Us.

© Copyright 2020 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.


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