president Trump issuing another controversial pardon this week this time
for conservative commentator and author Dinesh D'Souza who pleaded guilty in
2014 to violating campaign finance laws in connection with illegal contributions
to a Republican Senate candidate in 2012 the president tweeting that D'Souza was
treated very unfairly by our government mr. Trump also telling reporters
Thursday that he's considering pardons or commutations for Martha Stewart and
former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich who was serving a 14-year sentence in
federal prison on public corruption charges we're back with Danna Nagar and
Bill McGurn so Dan just as a constitutional legal matter there's
really no limit on the pardon power is there no there really isn't it's one of
the great powers that a president has there is a process there is a part an
attorney at Justice Department there are several thousand people who feel they
were wrongly accused or convicted trying to go through that process
Donald Trump has jumped over all of that tucán
and I don't think we should be too doubtful about this Paul Donald Trump
feelsies he is in a war with the Justice Department and Robert Muller and he is
going to use pardons like this to send them a message every one of these
individuals Dinesh D'Souza and the two proposed for Martha Stewart and Rod
Blagojevich Arkham are connected to prosecutors who have been who have had
Donald Trump in their crosshairs one way or another Preet Bharara in New York
Comey prosecuted Martha Stewart and a Patrick Fitzgerald a friend of commis
prosecuted rod Blagojevich okay bill the is that a proper use of the pardon power
you can use it legally that's one thing right but is it I mean you usually would
think we want to use the pardon power if the President to enhance justice right
not an undo in justices not to undermine the rule of law yeah I'd say a few
things one is it is one of the least fettered powers and that's a reason
there was a eight by the founders of what they
should do and they they rejected ideas of having Congress have a check on it
they gave it to a president for a reason I don't think it's about guilt or
innocence strictly as a legal matter the people I think a lot of it is the idea
that a president would have a discretion to redress something that might be
legally right someone might be legally guilty of all things but in some ways
it's it's out of whack it's a check for that so I think you know I think the
president could do it the one check that there is on the pardon his public
opinion sure it's the politics and that's what it was meant to be which is
why presidents usually wait until the end of their term to give out the
controversial pardons right well I really think that the Scooter Libby
pardon Dan was was a terrific act I think it was deserved we've been urging
it for a long time I think it undid a mistake that President Bush had made but
then you get to Joe Arpaio he had essentially refused to honor a court
order that was a different thing what about these individual cases you list
them I think the I agree with you that he is sending a message but are these
justifiable cases do you think just as a man on the standard of you know this
increased respect for the rule of law well look Paul this is a complicated
subject Dinesh D'Souza was convicted for campaign finance violations Martha
Stewart for securities transactions insider trading rod Blagojevich for
political corruption now in every one of those cases we have editorialized that
there are there are not clear lines on some of these issues you want to respect
the rule of law right but as attorney Harvey silverglade has written there are
thousands of ways you can now break a federal law without being aware of it
you can get into trouble very easily and the pardon power is one way one sort of
thumb on the scale to try to correct a balanced against prosecutorial abuse and
you know you'd have to go into the details here but I think there's a
legitimate issue raised of just how the public the people including celebrities
find some sort of compensation against what prosecutor
can do to them briefly bill you wrote about the Martha Stewart case right do
you think that the partners just like I think it is just fun I think as Dan said
it's a it's a redress and I think for example I thought the scooter libby
pardon was just fine but it's a message to prosecutors and it's and sometimes
it's not about the crime but about the punishment that is disproportionate
right okay thank you very much gentlemen when we come back primary voters get set
to head to the polls Tuesday in California a state that could make or
break Democratic hopes of taking back the house why the primary system there
could leave them out of the cold in some key races to come November
as primary voters get set to head to the polls in California Tuesday Democrats in
the Golden State are feeling the heat all eyes are on three battleground
districts in Orange County a one-time conservative bastion that backed Hillary
Clinton in 2016 once seen as promising pickup opportunities for Democrats as
they seek to take back the house a crowded primary field as well as the
state's unusual top two primary system could leave Democrats without a general
election candidate in these key races we're back with dan yeager kim Strasse
and Alicia Finley so Alicia 53 House seats in California how many are held by
Republicans 14 only 14 they're endangered species out there seven of
the seats held by Republicans are expected to be competitive
this cycle those were won by Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Sunland Democrats
actually have a voter registration advantage a huge one David Valladares
district up in the Central Valley are most of those seats that are competitive
where are they in the Southern California in the valley mainly in
Southern California in the Central Valley which is very agricultural okay
so how does the jungle so-called jungle primary where the top two vote-getters
get to go on the ballot in November regardless of party how does that figure
in here well I guess the worry for Democrats right now is that in some of
the seats like there are Isis who is retiring it's an open seat you'll get to
Republicans who will go to November so they're trying to put their thumb on
certain candidates in order so that outcome doesn't happen and this has
happened in the past now and the problem is that so many Democrats are running in
open seat and it's very divided in many cases they all kind of stand for
single-payer they're all very progressive and there's nothing
distinguishing them so and there are fewer Republicans running so that
Republicans could pop up and the Republicans have you know some name
recognition you know you have Dianne her key down in Darrell Isis district who is
a Board of Equalization a member and ran against high speed rail and that made
that made a name for herself in and in that district now if they don't
take the those any seats in California Democrats they're gonna have a harder
time picking up the house aren't they well I think that's where I think
they're still counting on Pennsylvania and the redistricting there by the state
Supreme Court but California is really their hope they need to pick up at least
probably for their Kevin McCarthy is from California he's the majority leader
in the House of Representatives he is trying an interesting maneuver he wants
to push John Cox the Republican who's running for governor to finish second so
he can get into the final race in November and you think okay well that
makes sense on the in on the other hand you disagree with that well I think the
world peace for us anticipated I think the worry there is that you have
two Democrats Gavin Newsom Antonia beer goes to the former LA mayor Gavin Newsom
has really styled themselves that's very progressive you know a wholly owned
subsidiary are the public unions if you get John Cox in the top two in November
Gavin Newsom is just sure to win you're probably getting get a lot more left
work tilt of the party so the state goes further let more spending probably
higher taxes where Antonio Burgos and may actually you know there's a chance
you get more pension forms and you'll produce core reforms charter schools or
turn school but McCarthy Kim figures that if you don't have a republic on the
governor's race then government Republican voters might not turn out in
those House races and you lose more House seats
yeah I'd push back on that a little bit I'm not really sure it's possible for
California to go more or less and so I look at these candidates and and it's
not clear to me it could get much worse but I think McCarthy's got a really good
point that you get a Republican on statewide ballot for that big top
governor's job and you inspire some more turnout for Republicans because that is
going to be key in many of these districts Hillary Clinton won and
of them but very narrowly as ELISA said there's a lot of voter registration and
balance and some of them the Republicans biggest challenge in California is to
get their side out to vote that day and Dan what do you make of this jungle
primary idea do you like this idea of of just the top two Mike Bloomberg push
that in New York for a while didn't go through the idea is to somehow it's
gonna make our politics move to the center it won't have the polar they
won't be as polarized I don't see a lot of evidence that California is becoming
less polarized oh well no but I'll got to tell you Paul
I love the jungle primary this year in California because what a spectacle it
is an estate as Kim said they can't move any further left typically in some of
these congressional districts you've got a couple of Republicans running and say
five Democrats why because of these tremendous anger at Donald Trump people
Democrats left-wing Democrats have come out of the woodwork to run for Congress
and get to Washington to impeach him this has driven the Democratic National
Committee absolutely crazy because the Democratic voters out there can't
distinguish between the five candidates and they're worried that ultimately the
Republicans will put their two candidates at the top of that ballot all
right thank you all we have to take one more break when we come back hits and
misses of the week
time now for our hits and misses of the week Mary start us off I want to give a
big hit Paul to Ukraine's security services who ran an extraordinary
cloak-and-dagger operation this week to save the life of Putin critic Arkady
babenco we are learning time and time again Paul that critics of Putin are not
safe at home nor abroad and the West has to do more to exact some consequences
before the irregular warfare comes to US soil all right Thank You Kate Paul this
is a Miss for some GOP state legislators in Virginia who this week caved to a
Democratic governor and expanding Medicaid to cover childless able-body
adults above the poverty line as part of Obamacare every state that's taken this
money is said it's free money but are now facing budget shortfalls and tax
increases so it's really disappointing to see some in the GOP sign on to a huge
growth in the entitlement state all right Alicia this is a hate to Serena
Williams who is returning after having a baby at the French Open rate but this is
a mister her fans who are saying that she should have an automatic seat other
women who come back from having children Kim Chrysler's Victoria Azarenka have
not received that special treatment and neither should
you
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