Trump asserts his power to pardon
Tweets come amid widening of Russia probe and Congressional agreement on Kremlin sanctions
NORFOLK, VA.— A defiant President Donald Trump unleashed a flurry of nearly a dozen tweets Saturday morning, asserting that he has the “complete power to pardon” aides, family members and possibly even himself — an apparent response to the special counsel’s widening Russia probe — and decrying “illegal leaks” in the “fake news.”
The Twitter blast came the same day U.S. congressional leaders announced an agreement on sweeping sanctions legislation to punish Russia for its election meddling and aggression toward its neighbours, defying the White House’s argument that Trump needs flexibility to adjust the sanctions to fit his diplomatic initiatives with Moscow.
Trump also lashed out at a new Washington Post report of previously undisclosed alleged contacts between Attorney General Jeff Sessions — at the time a U.S. senator and senior adviser to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign — and a Russian official. In a tweet, Trump called the disclosures an illegal new “intelligence leak,” part of his continuing effort to try to shift the public focus to what he claims is a partisan attempt to undermine his presidency.
The president’s defence of his pardoning authority came days after the Post reported that he and his legal team have discussed his power to pardon those close to him, including himself.
Shortly after his tweet storm, which started just after 6:30 a.m. and latest nearly two hours, Trump flew to Norfolk, Va., where he injected a small dose of partisan politics into the ceremonial commissioning of a new naval warship.
Speaking aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford, Trump extolled the virtues of the “wonderful, beautiful, but very, very powerful” nuclear-powered warship.
“We will win, win, win. We will never lose,” he said. But he also decried a budget compromise known as sequestration, which requires mandatory and corresponding military and domestic spending cuts.
He promised to try to restore higher levels of military funding, but also urged the crowd of about 6,500 — many in uniform — to help him push this year’s budget, in which he said he will seek an additional $54 billion (U.S.) in defence spending, through Congress.
“I don’t mind getting a little hand, so call that congressman and call that senator and make sure you get it,” he said, to applause. “And by the way, you can also call those senators to make sure you get health care.”
Trump’s brief appeal created a potentially awkward tableau at a commissioning event intended to be ceremonial — a commander-in-chief offering political remarks, and what could even be construed as an order, to the naval officers he commands.
The president’s 17-minute speech, as well as his frenzied social media assertions Saturday — which veered between proclamations of innocence and frustration — came as Trump is struggling to stabilize his presidency. He and several family members, including his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and his son-inlaw and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, are facing mounting legal questions about their involvement in possible collusion between the president’s 2016 campaign and Russia.
On Friday, Trump implemented the most dramatic, if potentially unintended, overhaul of his White House so far, installing wealthy financier Anthony Scaramucci as his new communications director, a move that led to the resignation of press secretary Sean Spicer.
The president’s defence of his pardon powers came after the Post reported that he and his legal team have discussed his power to pardon aides, family members and possibly even himself. Trump aides said the president is merely curious about his powers and the limits of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s attempt to tamper with the 2016 presidential election.
Currently, the discussions of pardoning authority by Trump’s legal team are purely theoretical, according to two people familiar with the conversations. But if Trump pardoned himself in the face of the ongoing Mueller investigation, it would set off a legal and political firestorm, first around the question of whether a president can use the constitutional pardon power in that way.
“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,” he wrote in one tweet.
In another tweet, Trump continued his campaign to discredit the investigation as based on leaks of information from political enemies aimed at undermining him. The Post reported Friday that U.S. intelligence officials had collected information that Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. had told superiors that he had discussed campaign-related matters and policies important to Moscow last year with Jeff Sessions, then a senator who had endorsed Trump. “A new INTELLIGENCE LEAK from the Amazon Washington Post, this time against A.G. Jeff Sessions. These illegal leaks, like Comey’s, must stop!” Trump wrote, referring to former FBI director James Comey, who was fired by Trump. The Washington Post is owned by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.
Sessions, now attorney general, had initially failed to disclose his meetings with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during his confirmation process; when they were made public in news reports, he insisted he had met with Kislyak only in his capacity as a senator and had not discussed campaign issues. But the Post reported that U.S. intelligence agencies intercepted communications that showed Kislyak indicated he had “substantive” discussions on matters including Trump’s positions on Russia-related issues and prospects for U.S.-Russia relations in a Trump administration.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on what she called a “wholly uncorroborated intelligence intercept” and reiterated that Sessions had not discussed interference in the election.
Meanwhile, the new sanctions legislation announced by congressional leaders Saturday would sharply limit the president’s ability to suspend or terminate the sanctions — a remarkable handcuffing by a Republicanled Congress six months into Trump’s tenure.
Now, Trump could soon face a decision he hoped to avoid: veto the bill — a move that would fuel accusations that he is doing the bidding of Russian President Vladimir Putin — or sign legislation imposing sanctions his administration has opposed.
“A nearly united Congress is poised to send President Putin a clear message on behalf of the American people and our allies,” said Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee, “and we need President Trump to help us deliver that message.”
The bill aims to punish Russia not only for interference in the election but also for its annexation of Crimea, continuing military activity in eastern Ukraine and human rights abuses.
Proponents of the measure seek to impose sanctions on suppliers of weapons to the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad and those undermining cybersecurity, among others.
The legislation also encompasses new sanctions against Iran and North Korea, two countries the administration has been eager to punish for their activities.
There are still hurdles to clear in a Capitol where the Republican majorities have been reluctant to confront Trump. With files from the New York Times