Weekly civic intelligence report ยท v2.2
Trump pardoned an executive who had been indicted in connection with bid rigging related to the Moody Center project. This represents use of presidential pardon power for corruption-related charges.
Presidential pardon of corruption-related indictment scores moderate on constitutional damage (A=13.31) with rule_of_law:4 (undermines accountability for bid rigging), corruption:4 (direct corruption nexus), capture:3 (executive protecting business interests), separation:2 (pardon power used to shield from judicial process). Severity multipliers modest (1.1/1.2/1.1) as single pardon, though precedent for corruption pardons concerning. Mechanism_modifier 0.7 for norm_erosion_only - no formal institutional change. Scope_modifier 0.85 for single_state/narrow population impact. Distraction score moderate (B=11.61) with outrage_bait:3 (corruption angle), media_friendliness:3 (clear narrative), low novelty/meme_ability. Layer 2 minimal - routine pardon exercise. Delta D=+1.7 near-neutral. Neither threshold met (A<25, B<25), no strong distraction pattern.
Monitor for pattern: track if this pardon is part of broader corruption-related clemency trend. Single pardon of state-level bid rigging case represents concerning norm erosion but lacks systemic impact without repetition or expansion to federal corruption cases.