Subtlety and finesse are not prominent features of Donald Trump's game. So when this week became Pardon Week—in addition to, we assume, Infrastructure Week—it wasn't all that hard to see why. The president is extremely frustrated that he cannot end or sufficiently meddle in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into him and his associates, so he has taken to grand public gestures in an attempt to publicly interfere.

The president has picked out a motley crew of white-collar criminals who all committed some very specific offenses, and is now going Full Oprah on them: You get a pardon! And you get a pardon!

Joe Arpaio, the Arizona sheriff who was convicted of contempt for disobeying a court order. Trump pardoned him before he was sentenced.

Scooter Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff who was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice. Trump pardoned him.

Dinesh D'Souza, the right-wing grifter who pled guilty to a campaign finance violation. Trump announced his pardon Thursday.

D’Souza Getty Images

Rod Blagojevich, the former Illinois governor who was convicted on 18 felony corruption charges after he tried to sell a Senate seat. Trump suggested he might be up for a pardon today.

Martha Stewart, who was convicted on conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to investigators. Trump floated the idea of pardoning her along with Blago.

Any of that sound familiar? These people are all the president's political allies, have committed similar crimes to those his associates are being investigated for, or both. The message to Trump's allies in Mueller's crosshairs could be a simple one: if you're on my side and you're under investigation, stay strong. The pardons a-cometh.

Blagojevich Getty Images

Or, according to BuzzFeed, it might be another case of Trump thrashing about in the shallow end:

Stewart, who was convicted of obstructing justice and lying to the government about a stock sale, hosted a spinoff of "The Apprentice." Blagojevich was a contestant on “Celebrity Apprentice,” and Trump called his conviction “a tragedy” in 2011.

So he just knows them from The Apprentice and feels like it?

A former White House official echoed that, saying he doubts "there's any grand strategic reasoning behind this play," adding that the D’Souza pardon likely came out of a conversation with a Fox News personality like Sean Hannity or Judge Jeanine. Blagojevich’s wife personally made the case for pardoning her husband on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show last month.

The former official said he doesn't think Trump is playing "the sort of three-dimensional chess people ascribe to decisions like this. More often than not he's just eating the pieces."

Ah. Well, that adds up. After all, he did also pardon a boxer who died in 1946 because Sylvester Stallone asked him to.

Jack Holmes Politics Editor Jack Holmes is the Politics Editor at Esquire, where he writes daily and edits the Politics Blog with Charles P Pierce.

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