Stevenson’s army, July 11

– CNBC says USAID is being politicized by new political appointees.
– NYT has similar complaints about DHS.
-David Sanger et al. have more details about attack on Iran nuclear facility and likely future acts by Iran and US.
– So what’s the difference between a commutation and a pardon? The bland lawyer explanation is this. But Kevin Drum adds this:
Someone who gets a pardon can no longer invoke the Fifth Amendment as a justification for refusing to testify in court. If Stone were called in some other case, he’d be required to spill any beans he had. But if I understand the law correctly, a commutation is more limited. The conviction stands, and the possibility of putting yourself in further jeopardy remains. Thus your Fifth Amendment rights stand.

So if you wanted to help out a buddy, but you also wanted to make sure he couldn’t be forced to provide dangerous testimony in the future, commutation sure seems like the best bet, doesn’t it?
– I love mayonnaise, so I was intrigued by WSJ article on its history.