Yes, it is a matter of scale. The same people who got away with it under Nixon without being punished, got away with more of it under Reagan/Bush without being punished, and are getting away with yet more of it under Bush II. And the vast majority of them will be punished (at most) by being forced to leave government service until the next Republican administration. I'm sure they're terrified at the thought of having to spend a few years in the private sector.

And I see all those huge changes in Gitmo which are leading to ... what, exactly? Pretty much all the prisoners are still there. I suppose we're treating them a little more humanely; with a couple more increments, it might not be war crimes anymore. I really doubt the administration cares whether they actually get tried as long as they don't get released.

As far as I'm concerned, it's fairly well established that checks and balances only work when either the authority being checked accepts the checks, or (if it doesn't) it gets punished. So far, I'm not seeing either. Now, a new administration featuring my preferred candidate will most likely accept the checks, and it will appear that everything is functioning normally. Just like it did under Clinton. And Carter. And with just as much consequence to the next administration that tries to see how much they can get away with.