Not Your Main Stream News

[BIAD]

When your goal in life is to fling sh*t at your enemy, any type of crap is valid.

Trump pardons: US justice department unveils bribery inquiry

'The US justice department is looking into claims that lobbyists have tried to use bribes to secure
a presidential pardon, unsealed court papers show. They say that in August investigators began
investigating a "secret lobbying scheme" possibly involving attempts to contact White House officials.

The redacted filings do not give any names, but the justice department says no government official
is being probed...'

Oh my, the headline alone tells me sinister goings-on are afoot in the White House and the first couple
of sentences reinforce the narrative. I suppose there's no need to read more.

In a tweet, President Trump referred to the investigation as "fake news".

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
17h
Pardon investigation is Fake News!

Fake news...! Dear President Trump, the BBC does not just write false information! The headline
represents what the British Broadcasting Corporation stands for!

Now lets add some level-headedness.

'...It is common for outgoing presidents to use their right to issue pardons, which wipe out convictions.
President Trump - who is due to leave office in January, although he is still contesting his election
defeat in the courts - has used the procedure a number of times.

Last week he pardoned his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying
to the FBI...'

Oh go on... this sounds interesting, please explain. Nah, just skirt around that lil' embarrassing story!

'Meanwhile, US media say Mr Trump has been discussing the possibility of pardoning family members.
The document released by a federal court in Washington DC on Tuesday relates to a request by the
Department of Justice (DOJ) to use emails and other communications seized in a bribery-for-pardon
inquiry...

Pardoning family members?! Oh my God! What have they been up to? Please elaborate.

'The data, prosecutors say in the paper, points to potential "criminal activity".
They say individuals - whose identities are redacted - appear to have "acted as lobbyists to senior
White House officials without complying with the registration requirements" for such activity.
Their aim, according to the papers, may have been to secure "a pardon or reprieve of sentence" for
another unidentified individual...

Wait a mo... you keep saying 'US media say, the prosecutors, they say'  like you're laying-off any blame
of what you're writing. Surely this can't be just a hit-piece?!

'According to the documents, prosecutors in August sought a court order "so that the investigative team
[could] access" the communications and confront the suspects. It is unknown who the people targeted
were...'

I thought this was about pardoning Trump's family? Anyway, the DOJ will back-up this article.

On Tuesday the DOJ said: "No government official was or is currently a subject or target of the investigation
disclosed in this filing."

Who has Trump pardoned?
Mr Trump has so far been less enthusiastic in using his right to grant clemency than any of his recent
predecessors, according to the Pew Research Center...'

Er, this is a bit contrary to the story's theme, President Trump doesn't seem to abusing this right of
his office. However, to save some face, you could wheel your favourite President onto the stage and
bask in all the good things he did.

'...Barack Obama, whom Mr Trump replaced in 2017, granted 212 pardons and 1,715 commutations
-the most since President Harry Truman in the 1940s and 1950s.
President Trump, by contrast, had granted just 28 pardons and 16 commutations as of late November...'

Boo-Hiss, Trump the grinch, huh?!

'Apart from Michael Flynn - who was convicted in 2017 of lying about his contacts with the Russian
ambassador the year before - people pardoned by Mr Trump include political strategist Roger Stone,
ex-Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, and former vice-presidential aide Scooter Libby.

A number of Trump allies are reportedly hoping for clemency, including ex-advisers Rick Gates and
George Papadopoulos, who were both convicted in the investigation into Russian interference in
the 2016 election...'

'Russian interference'? I thought it was Russian collusion that was the cover for the 2006 money
-laundering Papadopoulos was supposed to be involved in. The others... there's tales that the BBC
omitted to mention in other articles.

'...US media also say the president is considering issuing pardons for family members - even though
none has been accused of any crime.'

 Oh my, we must be getting near the end of this pile of [REDACTED]!

'...One source told NBC News that the suggestion has arisen because the president feels embattled
-not because he believes that he or any of his relatives are guilty of wrongdoing...'

 Someone unidentified told another Journalist that a 'suggestion' is in regards
of weariness and not anything anyone can be held accountable for!

The New York Times says Mr Trump appears concerned that under future President Joe Biden, the
Democratic administration might target his children Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka Trump, as well as
Ivanka's husband Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser.
There are precedents for granting clemency to people who have not been indicted.

Another quote from another news-outlet, did the hack wrote this actually leave his/her desk?!

'In 1974, President Gerald Ford pre-emptively pardoned his predecessor Richard Nixon, ended any
possibility of prosecution following the Watergate scandal...'

BBC:

That was Trump's fault too.