re: #652 lawhawk

This is what I’m calling a pardon trap.

Trump pardons Stone. Pardon means Stone can’t invoke 5A for actions he took, and must answer. It means he’d likely implicate anyone and everyone else around him, from Bannon to Trump and WikiLeaks (going up and down the foodchain in both directions).

That’s the risk Trump takes of pardoning anyone in his inner circle. Pardon short circuits Mueller in one respect, but opens the door in many others.

Say Trump pardons Junior or Kushner. Mueller could then haul both in and demand testimony about all their actions and they’d lose 5A protections on the issues for which they were pardoned. That could implicate others on the conspiracy, including their dad - or open them up to new charges entirely.

That’s why pardoning his way out isn’t a good idea.

If they don’t testify after a pardon, they open themselves up to obstruction of justice charges, no?

(I don’t do criminal defense work, so I’m not sure how that goes)