Dinesh D'Souza went to jail?!

[Jehanne]

He was one of the golden boys of Christian apologetics; you can find his debate with Hitchens online, but now, the adulterous felon has gotten a pardon from Trump:

Donald Trump tweeted yesterday that he will pardon conservative author, filmmaker, and provocateur Dinesh D'Souza, who pleaded guilty to campaign law violations in 2014. He was sentenced to 8 months in a community confinement center and a $30,000 fine.
D'Souza is a darling of the right for his books, including:

• The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left
  
• The Roots of Obama's Rage
  
• Death of a Nation: Plantation Politics and the Making of the Democratic Party
  

This won't be Trump's first pardon. He also pardoned former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Dick Cheney's chief of staff Scooter Libby. While the pardon power is unrestricted, Trump is using it in a way that the Founding Parents never intended. The original idea was to give the president the power to right wrongs when the justice system failed. For example, if evidence later surfaced proving that an innocent person had been imprisoned, the president could free that person. It was never intended to let a supporter of your party off the hook after having pleaded guilty to a political crime (in D'Souza's case, contributing too much money to a Republican senatorial candidate). Nor was it intended as a means of rallying political support (it's not a coincidence that Trump pardons people one at a time, and makes a big show of doing it). The President suggested that his next beneficiaries might be Rod Blagojevich and Martha Stewart, both of whom just happen to be former "The Apprentice" contestants.

With the D'Souza pardon (and the others that may come down the pike), Trump is (once again) saying that the rule of law doesn't apply to his friends and supporters. There is also the not-so-subtle message to people like former campaign manager Paul Manafort and former fixer Michael Cohen that a pardon awaits those who are loyal to him. (V)

Trump to Pardon Conservative Author Dinesh D'Souza

Did D'Souza deserve a pardon from Emperor Trump?

[AFTT47]

I can just see him pardoning Rod Blagojevich, one of the lowest of the low.

Trump and Blagojevich - two peas in a pod.

[Angrboda]

Dinesh D'Souza is such an ass. He deserves to be in jail just for being himself.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Dinesh D'Souza is such an ass.  He deserves to be in jail just for being himself.

Just another FUD distributor.

[Silver]

I'm surprised he hasn't pardoned Hitler yet.

[Succubus]

Dinesh D'Souza is such an ass.  He deserves to be in jail just for being himself.

Trump causing the collapse of the world financial system and or starting WWIII so what, people make mistakes. But reminding me that, that lying, repulsive slimy fuck still walks the earth is too much to forgive.

[Minimalist]

Elections have consequences, people.

When you elect a shithead you should expect shitty decisions.

[Jehanne]

Elections have consequences, people.

When you elect a shithead you should expect shitty decisions.

I wonder if any of our theist friends will come to Dinesh's defense here. After all, he loved and preached Jesus. How could he behave so immorally?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Elections have consequences, people.

When you elect a shithead you should expect shitty decisions.

I wonder if any of our theist friends will come to Dinesh's defense here.  After all, he loved and preached Jesus.  How could he behave so immorally?

That's the theist profile, so why would they have a problem with it?

[Angrboda]

If I remember the details correctly, D'Souza's violation did not necessarily express any intent to violate the law and may have been accidental. So I'm not sure the court's presumption of mens rea need be accepted.