Trump – I can clear myself

PARDON ME?

President Trump took to Twitter Monday to declare that he has “the absolute right” to give himself a presidential pardon — but he doesn’t have reason to.

“As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong? In the meantime, the never ending Witch Hunt, led by 13 very Angry and Conflicted Democrats (& others) continues into the mid-terms!” he posted. And he may be right. Samuel Morison, a Washington criminal defense lawyer formerly with the U.S. Department of Justice office of pardon attorney, said the Constitution grants Trump unfettered authority to grant pardons.

“The Supreme Court has made it very clear — pardons can be granted for a federal crime at any time,” he said.

The framers of the Constitution intended pardon authority to be a check on corruption in the court system, but they did not foresee how it could be abused itself. “He shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment,” according to Article II of the Constitution. Nothing in that clause says he can’t excuse himself from prosecution. That doesn’t mean he’d be able to stay in office, Morison said. In fact, if he does pardon himself, it would likely only accelerate his removal, the legal expert said. “He probably could, I just don’t think he will,” Morison said. “It would be an implied admission of guilt.” This would likely be the catalyst for Congress to begin impeachment proceedings to remove him from office — and the Constitution is clear he has no power to stop that. “It seems to me that the answer is that the remedy is not to put constraints on the presidential power, but to follow the political process,” Morison said. Not everyone thinks Trump can let himself off the hook.