@starkatt @noelle my prediction (for the two pennies it's worth): this is the beginning of 45's pardoning phase, in which his pardons will become more frequent, flagrant, and upsetting. he's doing this in part to set a precedent of "you can get away with anything as long as I approve of it" which he hopes will carry over for his eventual trial(s), as well as currying favor with the people he's currently courting.

@noelle @starkatt he's doing this deliberately to test the boundaries, find out what he can get away with, and he's being enabled and encouraged by a personal posse of others who are happy to goad him into the minefield. it'll continue until he gets distracted, or it somehow blows up in his face.

@starkatt @noelle (of course my fingers are firmly crossed for the latter, but I honestly don't know if it's possible, though I suspect we're all going to learn a lot about how presidential pardons work in the next week)