Possible Presidential Pardon Scenarios

[HAB911]

If Trump pardons them, they may no longer have a Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, and would have to testify?

Over the weekend, one of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyers, Jay Sekulow, refused to rule out the possibility that the president would pardon his associates, or even himself, in the Russia investigation. Sekulow told ABC’s This Week: “He can pardon individuals, of course. That’s because the founders of our country put that in the United States Constitution: the power to pardon. But I have not had those conversations, so I couldn’t speculate on that.”

The issue of whether Trump could use his pardon power returns us to the debate over whether a sitting president may be indicted or whether the Constitution requires impeachment and removal prior to indictment. As some have noted, that is almost a purely academic question because it is highly unlikely that Special Counsel Robert Mueller would indict Trump while still in office. In any event, there is the potential for post-presidency criminal exposure. In addition, Trump’s family members and close associates could also be under investigation. This means Trump could be tempted to insulate them by granting pardons before they’re convicted of anything.

Presidents tend to save their most controversial grants of clemency for the end of their term in order to avoid the ensuing political firestorm while in office. But a Russia-related pardon would be particularly incendiary politically. That may not mean much to Trump given that a defining element of his rise has been his willingness to disregard longstanding norms and upend convention. He has mocked the disabled, attacked a Gold Star family, joked about sexual assault, savaged the free press, and fired the FBI director investigating Russian interference.

Aside from the political dynamics, granting a pardon in the context of the Russia investigation also raises fundamental questions of constitutional law.

https://www.justsecurity.org/43308/presidential-pardon-scenarios/

[MineralMan]

1. A fine point, but Mueller cannot indict anyone.

Only a federal grand jury can do that. That's an important point, too. I have a problem with anybody writing about such issues who doesn't understand how indictments work. Clearly, that writer doesn't understand how the system works very well.

[MiniMe]

2. Can he pardon himself? I don't think he can

But I could be wrong

[HAB911]

3. Argument Can Trump Pardon Himself?

I think the answer is no. As in, can someone like Trump be elected president? No.



If the current president has proved anything, it’s that there’s a first time for everything.

With the appointment of Robert Mueller as a special counsel, the chatter about President Donald Trump’s impeachment has started to migrate from the purely hypothetical to the realm of potential practical reality. All citizens have a duty to stay informed during such a moment. But legal and political experts have the added responsibility of anticipating the many constitutional dilemmas that loom on the horizon. Donald Trump is an unprecedented president in many ways, and there is good reason to think any early departure of his from office would be unprecedented as well.

Consider the following situation. Whether or not presidents can be prosecuted while in office (no one knows for sure), the law is clear that they can be prosecuted after they have left. That makes it conceivable that President Trump, if he perceives that a team of prosecutors is closing in on him, could attempt to solve his problem by simply pardoning himself.

I have been writing about presidential self-pardons for years. My position has always been that they would be legally invalid. I have also believed that a self-pardon is unlikely to ever happen because there are too many incentives weighing against it. But I am not sure that applies to Trump, who has proved he has a high tolerance for personal risk and a taste for attempting the never-before attempted.

So what would happen if Trump attempted a self-pardon? First, some pardon fundamentals: Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution gives the president the power to “grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” Pardons thus can only cover federal criminal offenses and cannot thwart an impeachment (which technically is not a criminal prosecution anyway).

http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/05/19/what-would-happen-if-trump-pardoned-himself-mueller-russia-investigation/

[MFM008]

4. That must be

Or Nixon would have pardoned himself and carried on..

[HAB911]

6. from the article

Nixon considered pardoning himself just before he resigned. His lawyer advised him that he had the power, but Nixon decided against it.

[Samantha]

7. He was thinking of trying to pardon himself but Gerald Ford talked him out of it

and that was a good thing. Ford told him to resign instead and avoid the impeachment process.

Sam

[MiniMe]

5. Interesting. I think if it goes that far...

tRump will pull a Nixon, resign and have Pence pardon him and his family. And Pence will do it, just like Ford did it.

[temporary311]

8. I'm a little disappointed.

You could've said possibilities instead of scenarios. Or plans.

[HAB911]

9. Yeah, I'm disappointed too

but then I didn't write the article either, LOL