Roger Stone has joined the list of presidential buddies facing prison for misdeeds perpetrated while in office. But after the president's rash of pardons issued earlier this week, the question now is whether Stone will also join the list of those drawing a get out of jail free card.
The federal judge who sentenced Stone emphasized that her decision was not political, but was based on the facts of the case. Nonetheless, presidential allies quickly called it just that -- political.
The day before the sentence was given, the president pronounced himself the chief law enforcement officer of the country. Technically, this may be true, but the Constitution refers to the president as the chief executive officer, which means he is responsible for carrying out laws approved by Congress, and applies only to federal laws. The president cannot pardon or commute punishments imposed by state courts.
Already, about a dozen people were cut loose earlier this week, prompting speculation that the president will also pardon another half-dozen senior administration officials who were convicted of or admitted to various federal offenses.
So now what? Commentators pointed to the connections those already jailed have with other senior officials close to the president, and suggested that even the president himself is involved with the machinations engineered by those already convicted.
Another question: When it comes down to a worst case, can the president pardon himself?
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