"I was out on a walk today, contemplating what's happening and I began to wonder -- if it's illegal to conspire with a hostile foreign power to swing an election, what's the penalty?"

It is illegal and the penalty will be determined at some point. We just have not been down this path before in our country so this will be some new ground. It is not likely to lead to any jail time for our current president because we just don't jail presidents in this country. It should end in his resignation or impeachment but this second option is in the hands of the Republicans because they hold all the cards and control all branches of our government. The Democrats are essentially like the rest of us, angry bystanders watching scum rape this nation.

The Republicans seem to be waiting for a signal from Republican voters that they don't like what Trump is doing nor do they like that our country is now just another one of Putin's toys. Right now all they are hearing from Republican voters is crickets.

"Is there no nullifying the results and giving the nod to the 2nd place finisher?"

No, there is not. The Republicans won the election and so there should be a Republican president through 2020...it just should not be Donald Trump nor Mike Pence. I guess this leaves us with probably president Paul Ryan if things play out like they should. Now, Ryan also sucks but I do not believe he is insane nor a Russian puppet and he supposedly wants out of Washington so he can go home to his teenage children that don't particularly like him. So, fine...President Ryan it is then. My guess is he probably would not want the job as then pardoning Donald Trump would fall on him...not really a good thing to be remembered as the guy that pardoned Trump.

Donald Trump was the absolute worst presidential candidate in our history...and Hillary Clinton lost to him, technically making her the worst ever I guess because if you lose to that sort of scum you have to really, really stink. So, the one good thing Trump will have done amidst all the horrible shit is he banished Hillary from the political landscape. She now sits in a dark room somewhere mumbling about James Comey, Bernie Sanders, and all the other people she thinks screwed her. Good riddance and under no circumstance should we bring her back.

"And can a pardon be used to shut down an investigation into someone whose testimony could be damaging to the POTUS?"

No, and Trump can't offer a pardon to anybody until they have been found guilty of a crime and an acceptance of the pardon is an acceptance of guilt. If Trump begins pardoning anybody that is under investigation for interacting with foreign governments to influence our elections then he should immediately be impeached...which again falls to the gutless Republicans that control everything. Right now Trump and Rudy and the rest of his clowns are just attempting to appeal to their voters and keep their support because the things they are saying have no legal validity. It's all just nonsense for the base in hopes that they won't believe anything except what that lying boob Sean Hannity says.

"Nixon was as crooked as they come but he at least had some semblance of respect for the office; something Trump* has no amount of."

Nixon was a choir boy compared to Trump and Nixon at least loved his country. He was paranoid and a bit nuts but he would never have done the bidding of a hostile foreign government in the hopes that he could enrich himself to the detriment of his country.

George W. Bush was a disaster but he still loved his country, I believe.