President Trump’s recent pardons don’t even pretend to address actual injustice in the criminal justice. They are borne entirely and transparently out of Trump’s self-interest. The pardon of former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, convicted of criminal contempt of court, was a reward for a close supporter who shares the president’s hostility to immigration. The pardon of Scooter Libby, convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice, was a reminder to Trump’s associates, who are under investigation by the FBI. And this week’s pardon of Dinesh D’Souza, convicted for a felony violation of campaign finance law, marks both a strike against a political foe—former U.S Attorney Preet Bharara, a vocal Trump critic whose office pursued the case—and a show of solidarity with a figure who built his career on the same prejudice and conspiracy theorizing that fueled Trump’s rise through the Republican Party.
from Stories from Slate https://ift.tt/2sAxmJY
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