Isn't it kinda stupid to ask for a pardon for a coup before the coup starts?

[Rustynaerduwell]

If it fails, the only man with the power to pardon you is the man you tried to install. Pardoning you would all but admit his own crime.

If it succeeds, you won't need a pardon.

I don't get the pardons. They must know accepting a pardon is a confession of criminal activity. They were willing to accept that?

They must have known they could never get a pardon because 45 could never, himself, admit there was a crime.

Were they looking for a way to 'exonerate' Trump? "Yeah, we did it, but TFG had nothing to do with it" They get pardoned. He's off the hook. They get f'ing re-elected?

[dsc]

1. except the person who they were trying to install actually had power

Usually a coup is from the outside but this was the inside trying to hold on.

[Ocelot II]

2. They had a deadline of 1/20, in case the coup failed.

[moondust]

3. "preemptive pardons"

Some may have stupidly thought it would be a blanket get-out-of-jail-free card that never expires.

[Thomas Hurt]

4. Maybe they knew the odds were fair the Pig would screw the self coup up...

cover all your bases and all that.

[NJCher]

5. It is stupid, but

That’s the price you pay when you lacked the courage to get out before this mushroomed (allusion intended) into a crime.

[onetexan]

10. It was a premeditated, conspired plan that they knowingly & willingly took part in

That this was in fact a crime, an illegal activity they were willing to risk getting caught for. The pardon asking is nothing short of their admission of guilt.

[NJCher]

13. we know that

not everyone was brought in on it at the same time.

They had a chance to do the right thing as did many who quit and got out. Previously on this board I published a list of people who did so, though my list was the higher ranking people. A considerable number refused to cooperate.

[DFW]

6. Otherwise known as "CYA"

In one of its more primitive versions, obviously............

[GoodRaisin]

7. They don't care about being branded a criminal, just being punished for it. nt

[Celerity]

12. +1

[essaynnc]

8. So do we know if any pardons were actually issued???? nt

[Novara]

11. No. But ...

... the committee seems to be hinting that none of them were pardoned. The talking heads on msnbc later explained it. If they are issued pardons, then they can't plead the 5th under oath and they must testify, so they'd have to rat out the orange motherfucker. Have to.

Now, I'm sure the orange motherfucker didn't think about that by his ownself. But he must have been counseled that the risk of them having to expose him was greater than not pardoning them and all of them taking their chances on the truth never being fully known.

[alphafemale]

9. Sounds like those bizarre Purge movies

Ability to do violent crime without consequence appeals to a questionable mindset.