I’m old enough to remember when conservatives used to get upset when–oh fuck, why do I even bother? (boldface mine)

President Trump is so eager to complete hundreds of miles of border fence ahead of the 2020 presidential election that he has directed aides to fast-track billions of dollars’ worth of construction contracts, aggressively seize private land and disregard environmental rules, according to current and former officials involved with the project.

He also has told worried subordinates that he will pardon them of any potential wrongdoing should they have to break laws to get the barriers built quickly, those officials said.

…The president has told senior aides that a failure to deliver on the signature promise of his 2016 campaign would be a letdown to his supporters and an embarrassing defeat….

When aides have suggested that some orders are illegal or unworkable, Trump has suggested he would pardon the officials if they would just go ahead, aides said. He has waved off worries about contracting procedures and the use of eminent domain, saying “take the land,” according to officials who attended the meetings.

“Don’t worry, I’ll pardon you,” he has told officials in meetings about the wall…

“They don’t care how much money is spent, whether landowners’ rights are violated, whether the environment is damaged, the law, the regs or even prudent business practices,” the senior official said.

CBP has suggested no longer writing risk-assessment memos “related to the fact that we don’t have real estate rights and how this will impact construction,” the official said.

All this lawbreaking for political purposes: Trump admitted last year to congresscritters that a wall wouldn’t be nearly as effective as other measures.

Of course, when asked, Trump used the classic conservative dodge:

Asked for comment, a White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Trump is joking when he makes such statements about pardons.

He’s not joking. This is what conservatives always do when they’re caught saying something outrageous: they claim it’s a ‘joke’ (Ann Coulter made a career out of this). He’s quite serious.

“He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed…”

Impeach him. Impeach him now.