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Pardon Me

Rexedgar

Yo-Semite!
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If Trump is legally able to pardon himself, can he maintain the Office of the Presidency?
If he is not legally able, I see Mike Pence having no problem issuing a pardon as President.
 
If Trump is legally able to pardon himself, can he maintain the Office of the Presidency?
If he is not legally able, I see Mike Pence having no problem issuing a pardon as President.

the Constitution does not allow the President to avoid impeachment via pardon. So if a president tried to pardon himself - that would be unconstitutional.

Donald Trump and Russia Investigation: Can the President Pardon Himself?

While the president does hold powers to pardon aides, legally, he cannot pardon himself according to legal experts and memos written by President Richard Nixon’s Office of Legal Counsel days before Nixon resigned in the Watergate scandal in 1974.

The memos stated that “under the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case, the President cannot pardon himself.”

Trump does have a potential out that would involve Vice President Mike Pence stepping in as acting president. Even if Trump did use that, any aides he pardons can still be legally compelled to testify against him without the protection of the Fifth Amendment, experts say.
I Have been saying for weeks now that I fear Trump will do two things
1- fire Mueller
2- pardon everyone that has anything do with the scandal and thereby effectively remove any threat against him.

If this happens the only thing that could restore any semblance of checks and balances over an increasingly authoritarian president would be if Republicans in Congress grew a pair and voted for
1- a special committee with full powers to investigate Trump and all aspects of the scandal, or
2 - impeachment.

I fear they will not and merely will kneel before Trump asking what more they candy to enable fascism creeping closer.
 
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