From the second article:

"The right of US presidents to issue pardons is enshrined in the constitution.

Under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, presidents have "power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment".

And:

"Presidents have made sweeping pardons to heal national wounds, such as when President Andrew Johnson pardoned Southerners after the Civil War.

Bill Clinton caused uproar when he pardoned scores of people on his last day in office, including a brother-in-law and Marc Rich, a fugitive who had been indicted for tax evasion and fraud.

Perhaps the most famous beneficiary of President Obama's clemency was Chelsea Manning, the US Army Private sentenced to 35 years in jail for leaking documents to Wikileaks."

So as far as I can see someone has to be charged, if not convicted, before any pardon could be issued. Civil War example is a bit different, but I guess even then they could have charged them with treason against the state if they'd wanted to.

If Trump can't see that pardoning family, aides and himself before any charges have even been brought just makes them more guilty in the eyes of the world then he's not fit to be President in the first place. The President needs to have a working brain which Trump obviously doesn't!

And Congress votes for more sanctions against Russia while limiting Trump's ability to cancel them.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40696682

Here's an older article that explains it a bit better. Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon "all offenses against the United States which he … has committed or may have committed or taken part in". Nixon had not been charged with anything at the time he resigned. It was only a matter of time, though.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_a...l_pardons.html

Keep in mind a pardon is not the same as clemency, although they're both under the umbrella of the president's pardon powers. A pardon makes it as if the crime never happened. Clemency or commutation simply lowers the penalty. In Manning's case, she's still guilty of the crime. She was simply released from prison early.

Here's an older article that discusses it from the point of Bush 43's commutation of Scooter Libby's prison sentence: http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3339765&page=1

Trump has a different morals set than the rest of us, it seems. If he is legally allowed to do something as president, then he can do it. End of. Whether or not he should is another question entirely. He's very protective of his family and close aides so I wouldn't be surprised if he eventually pardons a ton of people - maybe his whole family and himself on his last day in office.

Haven't you just contradicted yourself there? How can she still be guilty of a crime if the pardon makes it as if the crime never happened.

Your second article seems to confirm that she is now considered innocent under US law.

What Is the Difference Between Commutation and a Pardon?

Randy Barnett, Carmack Waterhouse professor of legal theory at Georgetown University Law Center

Pardon is an "executive forgiveness of crime"; commutation is an "executive lowering of the penalty."

Waldman:

A "pardon wipes out the conviction while a commutation leaves the conviction intact but wipes out the punishment."

You can read about it here.

Of course, Trump may choose not to sign the Russian sanctions Bill; plenty of precedents for Presidents not signing.

Sorry, I didn't use the word clemency properly so my post didn't make sense. Both pardons and commutations are forms of clemency (mercy or leniency) under the president's power. But they are different things.

Manning was not pardoned. She received a commutation of her prison sentence to time served. She's still guilty but she's done with prison time.

http://www.ajc.com/news/national/pre...eF5GcVhcp6c1J/

Nixon was pardoned, which meant he wasn't guilty of anything and therefore didn't have to pay/serve a penalty in the first place.

Trump seems to be unusually forgiving at the moment.

"Anthony Scaramucci, the new White House communications director, wrote a scathing column in early 2016 aimed at then-GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, warning that the abandonment of "common decency out of primeval fear" echoed some of the worst examples of US history.

"Unbridled demagoguery has driven the GOP to an inflection point from which there is no turning back," Scaramucci wrote in a January 2016 op-ed for FoxBusiness.com titled "The Bankruptcy and Restructuring of the Republican Party."
"If a populist prevails in the primary, as appears increasingly likely, the party faces either devastating defeat in the general election or a new, unrecognizable identity.
In either scenario, a large swath of the GOP electorate will be forced to eat crow and reevaluate its affiliation."

There are ever more rumours that the State Department chief Rex Tillerson is considering resigning

Trump has a sort of unique situation!
He has appointed many very rich business men to senior Govt. positions instead of politicians.
From the "draining the swamp perspective" this is a very positive approach.

The down side is if these people feel Trump is not fully supporting them or is obstructing them then they will simply walk away.

Tillerson has a couple of problems with Trump, firstly he often makes public statements that contradict State Department policies.
Secondly he has obstructed Tillerson's recruitment picks so after 6 months the State Department is seriously understaffed.
For example, despite Trump's frequent attacks about the Benghazi debacle under Hillary there is still nobody appointed to the State Department position (Chief of Mission) responsible for US Embassy's security!

Who needs a Chief of Mission, when they already have the Chief of Emission.

Earlier this morning during a tweet storm about the Russia investigation, President Trump slammed Rep. Adam Schiff, tweeting that he was "sleazy":

Rep. Schiff responded less than an hour later with this:

Source

If somebody had written a book with such content nobody would have believed it

So even Fox News must be fake now

Why lie, even more so to this extent, when there's nothing to hide? How many skeletons does DJT jr. try to hide, and of what kind must they be when they can make him "forget" to mention about one hundred out of around 110 people?

As for the six months:
You don't start with all evidence already in place. Deciphering the story takes time, sometimes lots and lots. This one will most probably be with us for a long time.

So far I am fairly pleased with his presidency. Obviously he is quite a bit unorthodox in his methodology, but I think this is also for the best. One of my biggest problems with the US (I am also a US citizen btw) is how easily offended everyone gets. I can't scroll through any form of media without seeing someone crying about someone being mean. If one thing is to come from this presidency, I hope that his extreme hatred for political correctness brings the states back to a place where we no longer feel the need for safe zones and where people won't be so offended over someone with an opinion that is different from their own.

Care to explain in what way? What exactly has he achieved?

Another day... another paranoid rant. My memory might be failing me, but didn't Trump pick Sessions?

Trump savages 'very weak' Attorney General Jeff Sessions

President Donald Trump has launched yet another attack on US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, labelling him "weak".
His latest Twitter onslaught comes amid reports the president is consulting advisers about possibly firing the country's top prosecutor.
On Monday, he called Mr Sessions "beleaguered" in another tweet.

Mr Trump has made clear he is unhappy with Mr Sessions for recusing himself from an FBI inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
"Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes (where are E-mails & DNC server) & Intel leakers!" Mr Trump tweeted on Tuesday.

Moments earlier he questioned in another post why Mr Sessions was not looking into a report earlier this year that officials in Ukraine had sought to influence last year's US presidential election in favour of Mr Trump's Democratic rival.

The Washington Post reports that Mr Trump has asked an adviser how firing Mr Sessions would be received in the conservative media.

Full story

So one of your biggest problems with the US is scrolling through online forums with snowflakes complaining about how things are going.

You tell the world this by complaining on an online forum about it?

You are a genius.

For one thing, he's kept a lot of bad hombres out:

Border patrol union chief praises 'miraculous' drop in illegal immigration under Trump

So he scared a few illegal immigrants by demonizing and insulting them. Wow, hats off. Anything else worth mentioning?

Funny that he didn't seem to complain about it at the time that Sessions recused himself, or did he?

It's surely time Trump stood down and let Big Bird from Sesame Street take over, including on Twitter.

Back to the theme that for Trump loyalty is a one way street. Sessions was the first US Senator to support Trump's campaign for Presidency.

Always thought that Trump had big enough Cojones to tackle Sessions direct instead of hiding in the White House and launching these tweet attacks.

As the link suggested Trump's main target probably is Mueller the special prosecutor.

If he does get rid of Sessions I wonder how many "first class" people will even want the job now.

On another topic, I am also satisfied with Trump's presidency so long as he is a lame duck President unable to pass any major new legislation.

Meanwhile closer to the Engine Room!

Newly appointed White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said on Tuesday that he plans to dismiss assistant press secretary Michael Short. Short is expected to be the first of a wave of staffers closely aligned with Priebus to be shown the door.

“I’m committed to taking the comms shop down to Sarah [Huckabee Sanders] and me, if I can’t get the leaks to stop,” Scaramucci told POLITICO.

Source

The White House must be a lovely place to work

And going on about his usual tirade subjects at the Boy Scouts Jamboree.

"Parents have expressed anger after President Donald Trump delivered a highly politicised speech to tens of thousands of boy scouts.

Mr Trump started by saying: "Who the hell wants to speak about politics?"

But his speech to the Jamboree in West Virginia railed against Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and the "cesspool" of politics, drawing whoops and cheers."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40715185

I think we've found the reason for Trump's twitter meltdown this morning.