re: #29 Welcome to The Imbleachment (dangerman)

Trump is clearly willing to live with the political downsides, but he’s got at least two problems here that a pardon does not erase (in fact, it probably exacerbates them). The first, as we pointed out yesterday, is that this could expose Trump to conspiracy and/or obstruction of justice charges, depending on what is happening here, and whether or not it is ongoing. The second is that Stone no longer has Fifth Amendment rights against self incrimination. That won’t matter for the next five months, since he has presidential protection. But if Trump is defeated in November, there may be a whole bunch of people who want to chat with Stone, including members of Congress, federal judges, and possibly even state-level authorities in New York. If Stone ignores subpoenas, or if he refuses to testify, then he would be right back where he started: Go directly to jail, do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

Maybe, if it comes to that, Stone will take the bullet for Trump, and will spend a few years as a guest of Club Fed. But given how hard he fought back against going to prison this time, that is hard to believe. In any event, once again, the President has purchased some short-term gain at the possible cost of long-term pain. (Z)

Wasn’t his sentence commuted, rather than his being pardoned? Doesn’t that mean he can refuse to testify on 5th Amendment grounds?