Pardon Me

'Tis the season for pardons.  Fa la la...

And so, as the Pardon Season starts to crank up, Trump has started things off by pardoning former National Security Director Michael Flynn.

A few brief comments:

First, accepting a pardon is the legal equivalent of making a guilty plea.  Related to this, Flynn already pled guilty twice in court.  So, this is a Flynn Trifecta.

Second, It is my hope that voters in Georgia make note that Trump pardoned someone who was the National Security Advisor and twice pled guilty to lying about illegal dealing with our adversary Russia -- and the two Republican senators in the run-off seem just fine with that. 

And finally  -- and importantly -- by accepting a pardon Flynn no longer has a Fifth Amendment protection and therefore will be required to testify in full and honestly if he is ever subpoenaed in court.  And if he doesn't do so, he can be tried for obstruction of justice, which is not covered by the pardon.