6/1/2018

JAMES COMEY/PARDONS/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “There are multiple explanations for President Donald Trump’s latest pardon storm but they are all rooted in a defining character trait — his relish for wielding unchecked power. By expunging the conviction of conservative filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, and by hinting at more controversial pardons to come, Trump is showing his willingness to test the limits of his power and to crush the conventions and unwritten restraints surrounding the Oval Office. Critics are protesting that his move reveals political shallowness, subverts the justice system and sends a message to aides under duress from special counsel Robert Mueller. But Trump seems to be saying, ‘I have this power, so why not use it?’ The President’s D’Souza pardon, and possible pardon for Martha Stewart and commutation for Rod Blagojevich, is not part of a larger strategy to send a signal to Mueller and fired FBI Director James Comey, a senior White House official told CNN’s Pamela Brown.”

-Stephen Collinson, “Trump has many motivations — but power rules them all,” CNN Politics, CNN.com June 1, 2018 1:48 am