Pardon Me, Buddy

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On Thursday, following his recent pardon of conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, US President Donald Trump informed reporters aboard Air Force One that he’s “seriously thinking” of exercising his power to benefit both lifestyle mogul Martha Stewart and former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Critics believe Trump’s motivation for pardoning these particular public figures is to send a message to the US Department of Justice and the FBI amid as Robert Mueller continues his special counsel investigation. Considering that former FBI Director James Comey had ties to both Stewart and Blagojevich’s past cases in some way, suspicions were raised even further when it became clear Trump knew little about the individuals he’s thinking of pardoning. Trump claimed on Thursday:

[Martha Stewart] used to be my biggest fan in the world… before I became a politician.

While Trump is correct about her not being a fan of his politics (as evidenced by her vocal support for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election), to claim that she was even a fan prior to 2016 appears to be a stretch, considering this 2007 video. In the case of Blagojevich, Trump concocted his own facts related to the former governor in the same 31 May remarks. Possibly mixing up years with actual corruption charges, Trump added four years to Blagojevich’s actual 14-year sentence saying:

Eighteen years is, I think, really unfair.

Either Trump is doing his former Celebrity Apprentice stars a solid, or there’s something strange behind his pardon party.

1 June 2018

Sputnik International

https://sputniknews.com/cartoons/201806011064993299-trump-pardon-party-stewart-blagojevich/

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