In The End Trump Will Issue Pardons To Russiagate Participants Endng Mueller Investigation.

[delisen]

94. George HW Bush similar shut down Iran-contra investigation

This is the Republican Party in action. Now we can look back and see the pattern. Republicans use power differently than Democrats.

Democrats see themselves as serving the Constitution and the institutions of the US.
Republicans see themselves as as dominating the Constitution and our institutions-the Constitution is to them a tool for achieving the aims of a relatively small power group.

Today we see the Russia Connection; under Reagan/Bush it was an Iranian Connection.

What kind of president would sell arms to the repressive Iranian forces who held our diplomats hostage for a year, and then use the money to help repressive forces in South America?

Answer: Ronald Reagan/George Herbert Walker Bush

Ronald Reagan was never brought to account because he claimed ignorance, and everyone bought that excuse ---basically an excuse that he was too ignorant to know what his staff and cabinet members were up to.

Bush protected himself by issuing a pardon, under cover of the the Christmas holiday, to former Secy of Defense, Casper Weinberger

http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/06/29/reviews/iran-pardon.html?mcubz=1

Six years after the arms-for-hostages scandal began to cast a shadow that would darken two Administrations, President Bush today granted full pardons to six former officials in Ronald Reagan's Administration, including former Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger.

Mr. Weinberger was scheduled to stand trial on Jan. 5 on charges that he lied to Congress about his knowledge of the arms sales to Iran and efforts by other countries to help underwrite the Nicaraguan rebels, a case that was expected to focus on Mr. Weinberger's private notes that contain references to Mr. Bush's endorsement of the secret shipments to Iran.

In one remaining facet of the inquiry, the independent prosecutor, Lawrence E. Walsh, plans to review a 1986 campaign diary kept by Mr. Bush. Mr. Walsh has characterized the President's failure to turn over the diary until now as misconduct.

What Trump has done in pardoning Arpaio is nothing new to Republicans. In fact Weinberger was indicted and about to stand trial-not even convicted.

In contrast George W. Bush did not pardon Scooter Libby (Cheney's aide) for outing CIA agent Valerie Plane) presumably as part of a plot to discredit her spouse, whose evidence-based writings cast doubt on the reasons being give for invading Iraq. However he did commute his prison sentence.