President Donald Trump asserted Monday that he has the right to pardon himself but suggested that he won’t use that power, adding that the special counsel investigation is « unconstitutional. »
Trump’s comments come after one of his attorneys in the Russia investigation, Rudy Giuliani, said Sunday that Trump « probably does » have the power to pardon himself, but won’t.
« He has no intention of pardoning himself. » Giuliani also said on Sunday. « It would be an open question. I think it would probably get answered by gosh, that’s what the Constitution says, and if you want to change it, change it. But yes. »
Many legal scholars dispute the idea that a President cannot obstruct justice. While Trump did have the authority to fire former FBI Director James Comey, the question becomes whether he had corrupt intent in doing so — the issue at the center of Mueller’s obstruction investigation.
A Brookings Institution study in October concluded that the President’s authority to fire the head of the FBI in this case was a « red herring. »
« The fact that the president has lawful authority to take a particular course of action does not immunize him if he takes that action with the unlawful intent of obstructing a proceeding for an improper purpose, » the report said.
‘Unthinkable’ move, Giuliani says
Talk of a potential pardon comes after The New York Times published a 20-page letter to Mueller by Trump attorney Jay Sekulow and then-Trump lawyer John Dowd. They argued that the President could not possibly have committed obstruction in the Russia investigation because the Constitution empowers him to « terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon if he so desired. »
Trump’s « actions here, by virtue of his position as the chief law enforcement officer, could neither constitutionally nor legally constitute obstruction because that would amount to him obstructing himself, » Dowd and Sekulow wrote .
Trump’s lawyers sent the letter as part of a broader argument that the President should not have to sit down with the special counsel.
During another Sunday show appearance on NBC’s « Meet the Press, » Giuliani added that Trump pardoning himself is « unthinkable » and « would lead to probably an immediate impeachment. »
Giuliani wasn’t the only Republican against the idea of Trump issuing a self-pardon. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, told CNN’s Dana Bash on « State of the Union » that he doesn’t think the President should grant himself a pardon.
