Your solution is an elegant one that I'd support if he'd been sentenced already. If he hasn't been, that changes things pretty significantly.

But to be honest? I haven't kept up with all of this, because I just don't give a shit anymore. I probably should, but I'm utterly tired of people shrugging at Trump saying he's going to pardon people who stormed the US Capitol and then handwringing and wailing about how corrupt Biden is for pardoning a family member. Especially since Trump and the incoming administration have been explicitly open about their plans to prosecute their political opponents.

In some ways, I'm with Mike--but my particular flavor of cynicism is coming from a nasty little place of exhaustion and anger. Part of me wants to see Democrats flout norms as badly as the Republicans have been doing for the past fifteen years. Let's come up with nonsense as absurd as e-mails and Benghazi and Hunter Biden's stolen laptop.

Does the better part of me want that? No. It's absolutely toxic to the republic. But it seems apparent that the better part of me isn't on the same page morally as most of the electorate. So, you know. Fuck it. Let's all play in the mud. Maybe I'll get some schadenfreude by the end.