Borrowing From Third-World Kleptocracies, Trump "Buys" Loyal Campaign Apparatchiks With Pardons

Another tell is that Trump's clemency came not at the end of his time in office, as is sometimes the case with such favors bestowed on cronies and swindlers, but well before that--indeed, ahead of an election in which he is running. The gesture was not a guilty half-secret, but a promise. It was meant to show that the guarantee of impunity for choice members of America's corrupt networks is an ongoing principle.

For this message to be delivered with the utmost clarity, the pardons and commutations had to be seen as the work of Trump himself. They could not result or even appear to result from a formal process carried out by the Department of Justice and the White House, as is normally the case. Pay attention is the point being driven home: The network and its chief are what count, not the government as an impartial institution.

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Blagojevich's case provides other insights into the workings of corrupt systems. As he pointed out, he was not a member of Trump's political party. The kleptocratic networks I have examined weave across the bitter identity divides that pit their victims at one another's throats, weakening opposition. And the crimes that sent the former governor to jail are hallmarks of kleptocracies everywhere: seeking to sell a public office; wielding the power of his own office to extort payments. By commuting Blagojevich's sentence, Trump moved toward destigmatizing such behavior, normalizing it, even.