Key Senate Republicans warn Trump on pardon powers

WASHINGTON — Several Senate Republicans are warning Donald Trump against obstructing justice or pardoning himself, even as they continue to say there’s no evidence to support allegations the president’s team colluded with Russia in the 2016 elections.

“I’d advise everybody from the president to the people operating the elevator, don’t obstruct justice,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who was one of the House managers of the impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton.

Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, who voted to impeach Clinton for obstruction, also said presidential obstruction is impeachable. “A president can obstruct justice,” he told reporters.

Trump’s lawyers wrote a memo in January to special counsel Robert Mueller arguing that the president wouldn’t be obstructing justice even if he orders the investigation into his own campaign to end, or issues pardons. That memo was leaked to The New York Times over the weekend. On Monday, Trump also wrote on Twitter that he has an “absolute right” to pardon himself.

Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, echoed the president’s argument in a CNN appearance Monday night. “The pardon power is complete and there is no limitation on it,” the former New York mayor said, adding that “it would be suicide to pardon yourself.”

Most Republicans say there isn’t any evidence yet that Trump did anything illegal or impeachable.

But Graham said the dangling of pardons in the Watergate investigation was part of the impeachment articles considered against President Richard Nixon before he resigned.

“We do know that Nixon, one of the subsets of impeachment was improper use of pardoning authority, that that was seemed to be an abuse of office. What you are talking about is abuse of office here. You are the chief law enforcement officer of the land, but that doesn’t make you above the law itself,” Graham said.