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Trump pushes his 'complete power' to pardon

By POLITICO Staff
07/22/2017 09:56 AM EDT


President Donald Trump also claimed on Saturday morning that "all agree" that he has full power to pardon. | Getty

President Donald Trump claimed on Saturday morning that "all agree" that he has full power to pardon, following reports that his legal team is exploring his ability to pardon not only his allies and family members but also himself.

"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," Trump tweeted.

The Washington Post reported earlier this week that Trump's lawyers are looking into his pardon powers, a move that prompted a swift rebuke from the Democratic leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees conducting wide-ranging Russia-related probes.

Special counsel Robert Mueller is also leading a sprawling Russia probe and is said to be investigating whether Trump obstructed justice, in part by firing James Comey, the former FBI director then leading the Russia probe.

Despite Trump's claim, many legal experts say the extent of his pardon power is far from a settled question. According to Richard Primus, a University of Michigan law professor, Trump would be entering uncharted territory if he tried to pardon himself.

He also said many constitutional lawyers are skeptical that such a move would be legally sound.

"The Constitution doesn’t specify whether the president can pardon himself, and no court has ever ruled on the issue, because no president has ever been brazen enough to try it," he wrote for POLITICO Magazine.

"Among constitutional lawyers, the dominant (though not unanimous) answer is 'no,' in part because letting any person exempt himself from criminal liability would be a fundamental affront to America’s basic rule-of-law values."
Trump on Saturday also appeared to push for investigations into Hillary Clinton and Comey, amid the intensifying probes into his own orbit.

"So many people are asking why isn't the A.G. or Special Council looking at the many Hillary Clinton or Comey crimes. 33,000 e-mails deleted?" Trump tweeted, adding, "...What about all of the Clinton ties to Russia, including Podesta Company, Uranium deal, Russian Reset, big dollar speeches etc."

He wrote that his son, Donald Trump Jr., who is under scrutiny for meeting with a Kremlin-linked lawyer during the campaign, was more forthcoming with his emails regarding that meeting.

"My son Donald openly gave his e-mails to the media & authorities whereas Crooked Hillary Clinton deleted (& acid washed) her 33,000 e-mails!" Trump tweeted.

Trump, facing multiple probes into whether his campaign colluded with Russian officials, has repeatedly tried to push the attention onto Clinton for her own Russia ties and on Comey for sharing information about his conversations with the president to a friend, with the idea it would become public.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/22/trump-clinton-comey-probes-240839