There is something which Trump, his enablers, Trump-humpers don't get about POTUS's legal authority

[RockRaven]

Or at least pretend not to get, and hope the public doesn't get either: Just because the office of the President is invested with a particular power, even in cases where that power is said to be absolute, it does not follow that every exercise of that power is legal. This distinction is the difference between being able to stop him from doing something, and being able to punish him for doing that thing. Just because he can avoid the former, it does not follow he can avoid the latter.

That conflation is made constantly by Trump and Company. I assume most of them are mendacious and do actually know better.

Absent a complete subversion of our electoral process, or a complete breakdown of the rule of law, Trump is going to face a reckoning for what he has done and is doing. He's going to claim he had the authority to do things, and that therefore those things were legal. In many cases, those statuses are NOT interchangeable.

Police officers have the authority to use deadly force, for example, but it does not follow that every time they do so that it is legal. Trump has the authority to issue pardons, but doing so a) in exchange for a bribe, b) in order to obstruct justice, or c) in response to blackmail -- just to pick 3 random examples -- would not be legal on his end.

[Grasswire2]

1. plus there may be consequences he does not intend to provoke

Example. Pardoning Manafort would still allow Manafort to be compelled to testify. Firing Sessions would allow Sessions to tell all.

There truly is ultimately no way out for him. As you say, absent a complete breakdown of the rule of law.

[TomSlick]

2. YES!

Why is there no push back on this? An action within an officials authority is nevertheless illegal if taken for an illegal purpose.

[exboyfil]

3. I recently posted Ford's statement when he pardoned Nixon

You don't think a pardon is already baked into the equation. They may get him on state crimes in the future, but he may both pardon himself (along with his whole cabal) and then get a later pardon from a lame duck Pence in case his self pardon does not hold up. Let's say he loses the 2020 election running with Pence. He pardons everyone he cares for, and then Pence pardons him after he resigns between the election and Jan. 20th using the above mentioned Nixon justification.

Maybe we will get his cash, but he won't spend a day in jail.