Can The President Pardon Himself? Trump's Team Wants To Know: Report

WASHINGTON, DC — President Trump's legal team is preparing a full-throated defense of the White House in response to the Russia investigation, and lawyers are examining the full extent of the commander in chief's pardon powers, according to the Washington Post. Citing advisers to the president, the report found that the Trump team is considering the possibility that he could pardon members of his family or even himself, if criminal charges arise.

Whether or not the president has the authority to pardon himself is a vexed legal question, but because no one has ever tried to do it, it's never been put to a constitutional test. According to the Post, defenders of the possibility of a self-pardon argue that the constitution does not explicitly outlaw the practice (though pardons do not apply to impeachment proceedings). On the other hand, many legal experts say that case law and convention dictate that a pardon must be given to someone else by its very nature, which would rule out the possibility of a self-pardon. (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

The report also found that the president's defenders are preparing for a counter-attack on Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the Russia bloc, should it become necessary. Trump himself already laid the groundwork for such an attack when he said in a recent New York Times interview that Mueller had many conflicts of interest.

Read the full report at the Washington Post>>

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