It is my belief that on the last day of his Presidency, everybody associated with the Obama White House, including the dog, walked out of there with a Presidential Pardon for acts known and unknown committed during Obama’s term of office. Only the number of pardons issued is without precedent. Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon for future unadjudicated acts. According to an opinion in the Volokh Conspiracy, a person with a Presidential Pardon can be compelled to testify AND incriminate themselves for crimes covered by the pardon. If-you’re-pardoned-can-you-be-compelled-to-testify-about-your-crime?

Pre-emptive pardons would remove a prosecutor’s favorite tactic of trading down prison time for truthful testimony. Like Miranda, this may be good law, but it is lousy psychology. Individuals with a pardon would not be exempt from testimony before the Grand Jury or other evidentiary hearings. Their pardons would only be good as long as they testified truthfully. They could not be prosecuted in court even if they incriminated themselves. However, history may not be so kind.

This means that a competent investigation and subsequent questioning under oath before a Grand Jury would cause witnesses to confirm their wrongdoing and malfeasance while in office. Such testimony would recast the Obama Administration as one of the most corrupt and lawless administrations in the history of the Republic. This cannot happen, instead, a steady parade of witnesses would be compelled to lie and deny, in order to preserve the myth. These folks will never receive the punishment they earned while in the White House, but a conviction for Aggravated Perjury, Obstruction of Justice and Conspiracy committed after Obama’s term is not a bad consolation prize.

My first choice is to see Obama and some of his inner circle charged, tried, convicted and executed for Treason. This is unlikely to happen. My second choice is to see Obama and family relaxing on the patio of their Dacha on the Black Sea having drinks with Putin.