Does Donald Trump Have the Power to Pardon Himself?
Last week, the Washington Post ignited a rift with U.S. President Donald Trump when the publication reported that he has been exploring the powers of pardon, asking his advisers about his power to pardon his family members, aides, and himself.
This has led people to speculate that it may be directly connected to the ongoing investigation into the Russian involvement in the 2016 election, as well as impeachment talks.
All this seemed to have triggered the President, who called the report "fake."
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In a tweet, Trump responded: "While all agree the U. S. President has the complete power to pardon, why think of that when only crime so far is LEAKS against us. FAKE NEWS."
As per BBC, legal experts think that this statement implies that Trump would be similar to a judge presiding over his own trial.
His claim has also led to more questions and has divided the people's opinions regarding the matter. As President of the United States, does he really have the complete power to pardon?
University of Pennsylvania law professor and constitutional scholar Kermit Roosevelt told USA Today that while the President does have the power to decide whether or not to give pardon, he simply cannot "pardon anyone for any offense."
He added, "The Constitution says that he can't use the pardon to undo or prevent an impeachment, and also that he can only pardon for offenses against the United States, which means not for state-law crimes (and state attorneys general do have criminal investigations underway)."
According to the U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, the President "shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment."
Mark Tushnet, a Harvard law professor, also thought that a self-pardon is "outrageously improper," additionally citing that an impeachment is a political remedy for a misconduct, rather than a criminal remedy.
