Two people close to the situation say Trump has suggested pardoning himself in the few days left in his presidency.
According to the New York Times, the move will be one of the most extraordinary and unprecedented moves used by a President in American history.
Apparently, there have been several conversations between Trump and his advisers over his idea to pardon himself. In other instances, Trump has asked if he should do it and nd what legal and political advantages he could get from it.
The conversations’ timing is still vague, and it’s unknown if he’s spoken on it since Wednesday’s riot at the U.S. Capitol. Trump is accused of inciting his supporters to march on the capitol grounds, where some people involved stormed inside the building.
Trump’s thoughts of pardoning himself may have ventured beyond idle musings. He is well aware that he has the power to pardon himself, and given his latest antics, it won’t be surprising if he chooses to go forward with it. Even his aides feel he will follow through on his aims.
Purportedly Trump fears those against him will use the levers of law enforcement to go after him once he leaves office. This may be the reason he will become the first president to pardon himself, despite the legitimacy of prospective self clemency never being tested in the U.S. criminal justice system.
Legal scholars are at odds if the court will accept the move. Still, they share the sentiment that it will create a dangerous new precedent that other presidents may follow, feeling as if they are higher than the law. The pardoning will allow them to get off for their crimes if committed while in office.
Trump has also looked into pardoning his three oldest children—Donald Trump, Jr., Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump, son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and his close associates, including his personal attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani. Trump is fearful that Biden’s Justice Department may launch an investigation into all of them.
Trump has already told his advisers that he likes having the power to pardon people and has asked aides and friends who he should pardon.
According to the Times, he’s offered pre-emptive pardons to advisers and administration officials. Still, people weren’t too keen on the idea because, for one, they didn’t think they were in legal jeopardy, and for two, they thought accepting the pardon would be seen as an admission of guilt.
Trump’s aides encouraged him to make a strong condemnation on Wednesday, but clearly, he declined. White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone advised him that he could face legal issues for his part in the riot, considering that he encouraged supporters to march to the capitol and “fight.”
Aides reported that Trump seemed to enjoy watching the riot unfold on the TV.
Still, Trump’s legal woes go beyond Wednesday incident are vague, even with his revealed call to Georgia Secretary of state Brad Raffensperger, who he called and told “find” votes to help him overturn the election.
However, special counsel Robert S. Mueller, III, has outlined ten situations in which Trump may have obstructed justice but did not go into detail if he broke the law.
If Trump chooses to pardon himself, White-collar defense attorneys suggest he point out the crimes he pardoned himself for, but this would mean he would admit to his wrongdoings, a far stretch for Trump.
The Constitution’s framers allowed presidents to have total authority to grant clemency for federal—but not state crimes.
“Only a court can invalidate a self-pardon, and it can only do so if the Biden administration brings a case against Trump,” Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard law professor and former top Justice Department official in the George W. Bush administration, said. “A Trump self-pardon would thus make it more likely the Biden team prosecutes Trump for crimes committed in office.”
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