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Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov

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Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#251

Post by jmull »

JeremyNT wrote: post #248
contemporary343 wrote: post #10

This is all so hilariously corrupt. I'm not sure I can even muster anger for this, just laughter. (I'll reserve the anger for the pandemic and this administration's callous, frankly criminal handling of it). (So Levandowski and Jared are going to launch a venture fund soon, right?)

Not to "both sides" this too much, because I do feel like there's a new, special level of corruption and self-dealing on display with this administration, but it's not uncommon for these guys to use pardons for personal gain or the benefits of their friends. For a little context and flavor, remember that Clinton pardoned some real winners on his last day too, including some guy who paid $200k to Hillary Clinton's bro…

> Not to "both sides"

What do you think you just did?

Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#252

Post by rsynnott »

t-writescode wrote: post #100
reducesuffering wrote: post #22

So when we do get rid of presidential pardons? We've seen "an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president." ~Mitt Romney And we've seen pardons put up for sale.[0] Is the US a nation of laws and due process or a Banana Republic where anyone can be acquitted of anything? [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/17/us/politics/trump-pardons...

These aren't problems with the power, they're problems with people that abuse the power. We've had presidential pardons for centuries, and they are both a carry-over from the time of kings, and they could arguably serve as a short-circuit against injustice at the hand of the legislature. Not everything illegal is wrong. Not everyone in prison is serving a just sentence, no matter what the legal system declares it to…

> they are both a carry-over from the time of kings

That's kind of the problem, though. Most countries didn't carry them over in the same way.

> Left in the hands of the legislature, no one would ever experience mercy.

In countries with highly regulated pardon powers, some people are sometimes pardoned (though many countries lean more on the power of the courts to overturn convictions).

Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#253

Post by syndacks »

hypervisorxxx wrote: post #94
contemporary343 wrote: post #10

This is all so hilariously corrupt. I'm not sure I can even muster anger for this, just laughter. (I'll reserve the anger for the pandemic and this administration's callous, frankly criminal handling of it). (So Levandowski and Jared are going to launch a venture fund soon, right?)

The most interesting pardons are the no name ones. Pardoned restaurant chain fraud for an italian not even charged in NY. Sounds like mafia related crime to me. The other no name money laundering criminals are all related to either his gambling businesses or his place of living in Florida. He's basically pardoning people he's been doing crimes with for a long time and then if course some big names. I'm happy to see s…

IMO it was Lil Wayne's verse criticising Bush that earned him the pardon:

"I gotta bring the hood back after Katrina / Weezy F Baby now the F is for FEMA"

Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#254

Post by rsynnott »

paul_f wrote: post #208
reducesuffering wrote: post #22

So when we do get rid of presidential pardons? We've seen "an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president." ~Mitt Romney And we've seen pardons put up for sale.[0] Is the US a nation of laws and due process or a Banana Republic where anyone can be acquitted of anything? [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/17/us/politics/trump-pardons...

Did you read the article? Are you opposed to the pardon of Davidson? President Trump commuted the sentence of Jaime A. Davidson. This commutation is supported by Mr. Davidson’s family and friends, Alice Johnson, and numerous others. In 1993, Mr. Davidson was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in relation to the murder of an undercover officer. Notably, witnesses who testified against Mr. Davidson later reca…

That speaks to a broken justice system; that conviction should be overturned by a court.

Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#255

Post by gowld »

hypervisorxxx wrote: post #94
contemporary343 wrote: post #10

This is all so hilariously corrupt. I'm not sure I can even muster anger for this, just laughter. (I'll reserve the anger for the pandemic and this administration's callous, frankly criminal handling of it). (So Levandowski and Jared are going to launch a venture fund soon, right?)

The most interesting pardons are the no name ones. Pardoned restaurant chain fraud for an italian not even charged in NY. Sounds like mafia related crime to me. The other no name money laundering criminals are all related to either his gambling businesses or his place of living in Florida. He's basically pardoning people he's been doing crimes with for a long time and then if course some big names. I'm happy to see s…

They were pardoned because they paid Trump campaign favors, putting his corrupt administration and their own self interest over the good of a nation in crisis. That's far worse than their original crimes.

Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#256

Post by gowld »

koheripbal wrote: post #235
hypervisorxxx wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most interesting pardons are the no name ones. Pardoned restaurant chain fraud for an italian not even charged in NY. Sounds like mafia related crime to me. The other no name money laundering criminals are all related to either his gambling businesses or his place of living in Florida. He's basically pardoning people he's been doing crimes with for a long time and then if course some big names. I'm happy to see s…

Many pardons are recommended to the President by the Justice department for various reasons. A lot are for non-violent drug crimes that someone in the department felt was too harsh/etc... It's not like they are all Trump's friends. But obviously conspiracy theories will prevail, sadly.

The "conspiracy theories" were in Trump's pardon documents, like the "Russia hoax".

Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#257

Post by muldvarp »

levosmetalo wrote: post #229
muldvarp wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could use the exact same argument for the swastika. The swastika became the symbol of nazism because the nazis decided it to be. It was a religious symbol for thousands of years at that point. The key is to use context. A swastika on a temple that's older than nazism? Yeah, not a nazi symbol. A swastika on a flag at a right-wing protest in America in 2020? Probably not a religious symbol.

> The key is to use context. A swastika on a temple that's older than nazism? Yeah, not a nazi symbol. A swastika on a flag at a right-wing protest in America in 2020? Probably not a religious symbol. What about an Indian student with a swastika tatoo passing by a right-wing protest? Is it a religious or political symbol then?

It is of course possible to construct fictitious contexts in which it is hard to tell what symbols mean. That doesn't mean that those symbols don't have meaning.

Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#258

Post by koheripbal »

ModernMech wrote: post #231
koheripbal wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing to note - they cannot be charged with the SAME exact crime in state court (that would run afoul of double-jeopardy). As you said, though it's not clear, it need to be a different (though potentially related) crime.

This is not true -- double jeopardy applies to the same jurisdiction. You can certainly be charged in state and federal court for the same crime.

Actually, you are correct.

https://www.wklaw.com/double-jeopardy-federal/

Of course, there's still the limitation that the State would need to find it's own law that the accused violated - they have no jurisdiction over Federal law (and vice-versa).

Still... it doesn't sit quite right with me. If someone is acquitted by a jury in, let's say, Rhode Island for murder. It doesn't seem right that the Federal government could step in and hold an entirely new trial thereafter. Seems to fly in the face of what Double-Jeopardy is supposed to prevent.

Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#259

Post by gowld »

slg wrote: post #4

>This pardon is strongly supported by James Ramsey, Peter Thiel, Miles Ehrlich, Amy Craig, Michael Ovitz, Palmer Luckey, Ryan Petersen, Ken Goldberg, Mike Jensen, Nate Schimmel, Trae Stephens, Blake Masters, and James Proud, among others. I guess it pays to have rich friends.

Will anyone powerful in the tech industry have the strength of character to stop doing business with these corrupt cronies?

Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#260

Post by Loughla »

flippinburgers wrote: post #236
spacemanmatt wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The white supremacy sign is a white power sign because white supremacists use it to signal each other. It is called a "dog whistle" because people like you cannot hear it accurately.

Supposed dog whistles and the extreme desire to immediately label people based on innocuous gestures/words is the new norm within certain parts of the puritanical left. I never thought I would see the day. It is shocking that what was once the bastion of liberal thought and open-mindedness has become this hyper-judgemental, crucify-all-that-don't-bow-to-our-will movement. Gems of the left: Do you want to be on the wr…

Okay, I'll bite.

>Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences!

How is that false? You can say what you want, outside of threats and the like, but you also get to live with the outcome of saying whatever it is.

I don't see how that's puritanical. It's a statement of fact. I can tell my boss to go f** himself. I can also get fired for doing that.

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