Can the President pardon himself?
Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 4:14 am
The most imperial regent, Louis XIV, said L'etat c'est moi' ('I am the state'). Since the glow of the Sun King however, the trend has been away from governments where a single leader holds power over the state. The United States has always proudly declared that no man is above the law.
Until now, that is. Today Trump tweeted the following:
Notice that Trump starts with the idea that he has the power to pardon himself, but quickly says he has no need to use it because he has done nothing wrong. Which begs the question: What if the President is charged doing something wrong? Can the President pardon himself if he, as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer, believes he did nothing wrong?
And then there is the simple declaration that he has the power to pardon himself. I would be shocked if any other President in our history has made such a claim. Certainly the Presidents who were impeached or who faced impeachment never made that argument. I'm a lifelong Democrat, but if Obama or Clinton made that argument, I would have worked to make sure they were not re-elected. Democracy is tied to the principle that people are entitled to equal rights under the law, and along side that is the idea that no man is above the law.
Perhaps Trump sees himself as the hero in an Ayn Rand novel, one of those guys with so much intellect, creativity and libido that they are not bound by conventions of the merely mortal proletariat. I could give a crap. No man is above the law.
And as soon as we start to believe otherwise this country is going down the tubes. I would have hoped that we would have finally found 'a bridge too far' for all Americans, but Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Huckabee Sanders seem willing to entertain the possibility that the President is above the law. If anyone had any doubts about Donald Trump's contempt for the rule of law, they should have ended today.
Until now, that is. Today Trump tweeted the following:
As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong? In the meantime, the never ending Witch Hunt, led by 13 very Angry and Conflicted Democrats (& others) continues into the mid-terms!
Notice that Trump starts with the idea that he has the power to pardon himself, but quickly says he has no need to use it because he has done nothing wrong. Which begs the question: What if the President is charged doing something wrong? Can the President pardon himself if he, as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer, believes he did nothing wrong?
And then there is the simple declaration that he has the power to pardon himself. I would be shocked if any other President in our history has made such a claim. Certainly the Presidents who were impeached or who faced impeachment never made that argument. I'm a lifelong Democrat, but if Obama or Clinton made that argument, I would have worked to make sure they were not re-elected. Democracy is tied to the principle that people are entitled to equal rights under the law, and along side that is the idea that no man is above the law.
Perhaps Trump sees himself as the hero in an Ayn Rand novel, one of those guys with so much intellect, creativity and libido that they are not bound by conventions of the merely mortal proletariat. I could give a crap. No man is above the law.
And as soon as we start to believe otherwise this country is going down the tubes. I would have hoped that we would have finally found 'a bridge too far' for all Americans, but Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Huckabee Sanders seem willing to entertain the possibility that the President is above the law. If anyone had any doubts about Donald Trump's contempt for the rule of law, they should have ended today.
