ABSTRACT
Although the Mueller report pulled its punches with respect to Trump’s criminality, the special prosecutor did successfully bring cases against several of those involved in Trump’s dealings with Russia. It obtained a conviction of Roger Stone for misleading investigators and Congress and witness tampering, only to have Attorney General Barr replace the career prosecutors who achieved this with others who sought a much lower sentence. Trump then commuted Stone’s sentence and later pardoned him. Michael Flynn pleaded to lying to the FBI but then sought to withdraw his guilty plea. Barr again replaced the career prosecutors with others who moved to drop the prosecution (despite the guilty plea). And when the judge resisted, Trump just pardoned Flynn. Paul Manafort was convicted major financial crimes in two federal courts, but the judges (appointed by Obama and Reagan) treated the defendant very differently (during the trial and in sentencing). Trump pardoned him too. Trump also intervened in criminal proceedings to seek harsh punishment of a soldier who went AWOL and a terrorist who killed Americans in New York and to protect soldiers and military contractors convicted of war crimes.
