President Donald Trump announced another slate of pardons on Wednesday night, this time including what some consider to be Russia scandal conspirators, Paul Manafort and Roger Stone. Both men already got the VIP treatment from the Justice Department under Attorney General Bill Barr.
Manafort, in particular, was slated to be sent to Rikers Island Prison, when the Justice Department stepped in to ensure he could be imprisoned at home with his expensive and fancy carpets.
Stone didn't even have to face the harshness of a prison cell as Trump commuted his sentence the day before he was slated to go to jail.
See how legal scholars and angry Americans responded to the pardons below:
Law & Order president. Yeah, right.— Neal Katyal (@Neal Katyal)1608770274.0
I remember when the anti-anti-Trumpers challenged me to name one example of why I think Trump was hostile to the ru… https://t.co/v4nnD9sZuJ— Tom Nichols (@Tom Nichols)1608770283.0
Not sure which is more remarkable: That the President sees the pardon power as a way to reward his friends, or that… https://t.co/mFcSTw8tOJ— Orin Kerr (@Orin Kerr)1608770309.0
Wife: He pardoned them too soon. There are still WEEKS for them to crime.— Elie Mystal (@Elie Mystal)1608770410.0
In pardoning Stone and Manafort, Trump is holding up his end of agreements to obstruct justice and completing a cri… https://t.co/TXozPS48qV— Susan Hennessey (@Susan Hennessey)1608770736.0
On the 2nd day of pardons, Trump handed out 3... https://t.co/UbPIlLc5u2— Joyce Alene (@Joyce Alene)1608769561.0
This is why Manafort thumbed his nose at Mueller from the beginning and went back on his cooperation deal. He was… https://t.co/TI9wUNjWAJ— Renato Mariotti (@Renato Mariotti)1608769697.0
Every significant Mueller defendant who refused to cooperate (or started but then stopped) has now been pardoned.… https://t.co/ZkTcP3hezN— Elie Honig (@Elie Honig)1608769792.0
Clearing the names of his favorite felons. The white, wealthy and well-connected. https://t.co/leD9dIcJYo— Jennifer Taub (@Jennifer Taub)1608769912.0
Pardons can be used to advance the cause of criminal justice reform, when presidents use the pardon power to pardon… https://t.co/71HktuszrX— Renato Mariotti (@Renato Mariotti)1608769978.0
Kushner, Manafort & Stone - "Of the 65 pardons and commutations that Mr. Trump had granted before Wednesday, 60 hav… https://t.co/Nlch5rqlwE— Shanlon Wu (@Shanlon Wu)1608769997.0
Based on reading the parts of the Mueller report on Manafort many times... I do think that this pardon now signifi… https://t.co/4J9Y1Lmp11— Ryan Goodman (@Ryan Goodman)1608770030.0
Tis the Season to pardoned ... Fa La La La La La La La La La ... Don we now our jail apparel .... Will Jared have t… https://t.co/9Xjky7DV8r— Richard W. Painter (@Richard W. Painter)1608770714.0
The "witness retaliation" that Trump delicately describes here involves CHARLES KUSHNER hiring a sex worker to sedu… https://t.co/prD8S71yis— Adam Klasfeld (@Adam Klasfeld)1608770229.0
Christie on Charles Kushner: "Mr. Kushner pled guilty, he admitted the crimes..it's one of the most loathsome, disg… https://t.co/5oQr9aye1D— Grace Panetta (@Grace Panetta)1603747214.0
Trump's pardons of Paul Manafort and Roger Stone tonight follow a years-long pattern of Trump pressuring his associ… https://t.co/86Aj0ufbI2— Katelyn Polantz (@Katelyn Polantz)1608770387.0
The stench of the #ManafortPardon should stick to Senator #RonJohnson. Sen. Johnson's effort to promote Ukraine… https://t.co/9N0JFo6RoK— Ryan Goodman (@Ryan Goodman)1608770861.0
