“When people at the top show contempt for law and contempt for the legal process, that’s bound to trickle down,” said Pamela Karlan, a Stanford University law professor…
“I fear the continued battering of the attorney general almost makes it like commonplace, something to be expected between a president and his attorney general,” said Gonzales, who was forced to resign as attorney general in 2007 following a political uproar over the firing of U.S. attorneys. “It does undermine the credibility of the attorney general. If we ever got to a place where it was routine or common for the president to question the judgment of the attorney general, that would not be a good place.”
Trump’s consideration of pardons, while he praises associates who don’t cooperate with investigations and help those who praise him, also could have a chilling effect, law enforcement officials said. Without consulting Justice officials, the president previously pardoned former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, the immigration hard-liner convicted of criminal contempt of court, and conservative firebrand Dinesh D’Souza, who pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws.
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