In a normal political environment, Trump’s brazenly corrupt approach to pardons would be the defining scandal of his presidency.

His pardon for Nevada's Michele Fiore was ridiculous, but it was also part of an indefensible pattern.

Nevada’s Michele Fiore was already a notorious right-wing political figure when her career took a turn for the worse last summer: Fiore was indicted last July on a series of felonies, and the case against her appeared strong.....

Though she pleaded not guilty, a jury heard the evidence and found her guilty of six counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Following her conviction, Fiore was poised to be sentenced, and she was likely to be sent to prison for quite a while.

That is, until Donald Trump intervened. NBC News reported:

Trump has pardoned former Las Vegas City Council member Michele Fiore, who was due to be sentenced on wire fraud charges, according to a copy of the pardon her lawyer posted on the docket in connection with her case.

Neither the president nor anyone on his team have explained why, exactly, he decided to let Fiore get away with her apparent felonies, but it’s worth emphasizing for context that Fiore — who has occasionally been described as Nevada’s “Lady Trump” — is a longtime Trump supporter and loyalist.

The pardon is also part of an indefensible pattern......

But let’s also not overlook the soft spot Trump seems to have for politicians convicted of corruption. Indeed, the pattern is unmistakable. The Washington Post published this memorable roundup on the last day of Trump’s first term:

Since Trump took office, two incumbent Republican congressmen have been convicted of crimes, Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) and Duncan D. Hunter (R-Calif.), as has a former congressman, Steve Stockman (R-Tex.). Trump pardoned all three of them. Trump also pardoned four former Republican congressmen convicted before his presidency: Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.), Robin Hayes (R-N.C.), Mark Siljander (R-Mich.) and Randall “Duke” Cunningham (R-Calif.). ... [A]ccording to GovTrack’s Legislator Misconduct Database, Trump has now pardoned a majority of Republican congressmen convicted of felonies in the 21st century.

As the president’s second term gets underway in earnest, he hasn’t just pardoned Fiore and a man synonymous with corruption in Illinois politics, his administration has also abandoned the criminal case against a former Republican congressman who’d already been found guilty of corruption by a jury, while simultaneously taking steps to abandon a corruption investigation targeting an incumbent Republican congressman.

It’s against this backdrop that the Trump administration also dropped corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

The message to politicians convicted or accused of corruption couldn’t be clearer: You have a friend in the Oval Office.