Will Trump pardon himself?

[RecoveringYuppy]

There is no "technical."

"The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment."

That's it. That's the whole thing. That's all it says. There's no technicality beyond that.

Everything else is either tradition or someone's interpretation.

It doesn't follow that there is no technicality beyond that. There's plenty of technicality in him being CIC of the Armies despite it not being mentioned in that paragraph.

 

[turingtest]

He'll try, it will be challenged and overturned. Even Republicans don't want a President who is totally above the law, because he might be a Democrat.

Not to mention that allowing a Republican president to pardon himself for inciting a riot while the folks who rioted go to jail for it is probably not a look the GOP will want to have down the line.

 

[Trebuchet]

Not to mention that allowing a Republican president to pardon himself for inciting a riot while the folks who rioted go to jail for it is probably not a look the GOP will want to have down the line.

Which GOP? The Trump Republican Party, or the other one which is rapidly coming into existence. The trademark lawsuits are going to be awesome.

 

[angrysoba]

As with others, I think he will try to do it. Whether it is accepted or not, I have no idea.

Presumably we will find out.

1. Senate convicts Trump in impeachment.
2. Trump takes this to through the courts and eventually to the Supreme Court.
3. Supreme Court rules...?

On the other hand, his self-pardon may give Republicans an excuse not to convict.

"Ah, well, I would definitely think long and hard about this one, but if the pardon done fit I must acquit." said former majority leader, Mitch McConnell.

 

[sarge]

The poll is specific. Yes, Trump will pardon himself. And with the current makeup of the SCOTUS it may work.

 

[angrysoba]

Ah wait, he cannot pardon himself in the case of an impeachment, so that's good.

All the more reason why he must be impeached.

 

[Segnosaur]

The poll is specific. Yes, Trump will pardon himself. And with the current makeup of the SCOTUS it may work.

Not necessarily.

The conservatives on the supreme court are eager overturn abortion laws, etc. They are dedicated to implementing their right-wing ideals.

Allowing Trump to be pardoned might be counter-productive.... it would be a rallying cry for Democrats who want to pack the court. From their point of view, it is probably better to keep a low profile, let Trump fry (because he is no longer useful), and allow them to overturn Roe v Wade when their position is more secure.

Remember, the court unanimously rejected Trump's attempt to challenge election results.

(Note that I am not defending judges like Drunky McRapeface or the Stepford Wife... just pointing out that they probably don't feel any particular loyalty to Stubby McBonespurs.)

 

[Norman Alexander]

He can TRY to pardon himself. It will probably fail to uphold if challenged. And I'm betting his staff, who have been desperately trying to save Donny from himself this last week, will tell him it went through fine, but in reality they will tear up the memo and burn the scraps.

 

[acbytesla]

The poll is specific. Yes, Trump will pardon himself. And with the current makeup of the SCOTUS it may work.

I wouldn't bet that. Few Constitutional law experts believe POTUS can do that. The DOJ memo that says POTUS cannot be indicted also says POTUS cannot pardon himself.

But neither has ever been tested.

 

[PhantomWolf]

Only if there will be any Democrat president in future.

Future Democrat Presidents are almost a certainty, this is one of the things that Republicans are well aware of. They got lucky with Trump, only a few hundred thousand votes over three States handed him a win, but as more and more States become urbanised and start to shift towards Blue, the less hold the Republicans have on the Presidency.

They know full well that Texas is heading towards being a swing state, one of the reasons that they are really trying to hold Florida.

But the thing is, that each election the needle moves towards bluer states, for the Presidency. Oddly it tends to be the other way for the Senate.

With younger more liberal votes coming in, older more conservative votes dying off, an increase in diversity, and a swing in the Suburbs towards the Democrats as they cease to be bastions of the white middle-class family, and start to become more diverse as well, this all points to the Democrats getting more and more control over the Presidency in years to come. Expect to see more attempts of voter suppression and fear-mongering from the Republicans, because that's pretty much all they have left to eck out a victory.

 

[Dave Rogers]

There's a report going round that Trump's aides have warned him that a self-pardon would open him up to massive civil liability, as a result of which he's thrown a tantrum and decided he's not going to pardon anyone else either. I have no idea how credible this is, but if true I'd say it's an excellent result all round.

Dave

 

[Darat]

There's a report going round that Trump's aides have warned him that a self-pardon would open him up to massive civil liability, as a result of which he's thrown a tantrum and decided he's not going to pardon anyone else either. I have no idea how credible this is, but if true I'd say it's an excellent result all round.

Dave

Certainly sounds like Trump and because it supports what I said earlier:


“ Part of the reason I think he will is because the likes of his daughter and son-in-law and lawyer will want pardons and with Trump unless they can make him think he is getting something in exchange for their pardons he has no reason to grant them pardons.”

I’m choosing it as my “facts”!

 

[The Great Zaganza]

I'm just wondering why Trump hasn't pardoned his kids yet.

 

[Darat]

I'm just wondering why Trump hasn't pardoned his kids yet.

Probably forgotten about them.

 

[Mader Levap]

(...) With younger more liberal votes coming in, older more conservative votes dying off, an increase in diversity, and a swing in the Suburbs towards the Democrats as they cease to be bastions of the white middle-class family, and start to become more diverse as well, this all points to the Democrats getting more and more control over the Presidency in years to come. Expect to see more attempts of voter suppression and fear-mongering from the Republicans, because that's pretty much all they have left to eck out a victory.

All you optimistic claims do is pointing out time limit for transforming country into rightwing authoritarian state.

 

[TragicMonkey]

I'm just wondering why Trump hasn't pardoned his kids yet.

Because there's nothing in it for him, of course.

 

[Suddenly]

All you optimistic claims do is pointing out time limit for transforming country into rightwing authoritarian state.

Yes. This isn't a novel point or a secret to anyone paying attention. The GOP has been hostile to the concept of democracy for some time for this very reason. Voter suppression, gerrymandering, etc.

We are near the end of the viability of white supremacy within the guise of democracy. It was never going to go gentle into that good night.

There was going to be this sort of violence four years ago if Clinton won. The tragedy is that these forces have had four extra years of being emboldened and gaining allies within the power structure which is going to make this so much worse than it needed to be.

 

[Horatius]

Because there's nothing in it for him, of course.

Dream scenario: Trump pardons all his kids, and they all give a massive group sigh of relief, and announce: "Finally! Now we can dish on all the **** he had us doing!"

Trump goes to jail, and the kids take over all his money&property, not even putting a single cent in his commissary account.

 

[timhau]

Dream scenario: Trump pardons all his kids, and they all give a massive group sigh of relief, and announce: "Finally! Now we can dish on all the **** he had us doing!"

Trump goes to jail, and the kids take over all his money&property, not even putting a single cent in his commissary account.

...and then they find out that after all the debts are paid, they get to share $38,50.

 

[JoeMorgue]

Al Bundy to his son: "That's it! I've had it. You're out of the will. Wait that's not a punishment. You're in the will! You'll owe millions!"