General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: IT IS A CRIME. PERIOD. A VERY SERIOUS CRIME! [View all]Bayard
(22,038 posts)"Laurence Tribe, a Harvard Law School constitutional professor; Richard Painter, a White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush; and Norman Eisen, a White House ethics lawyer under President Barack Obama agreed with Justice Department guidelines.
They said that the Constitution gives the president the power to act as a judge in another person's criminal case as he sees fit. It also allows him to pardon anyone at anytime, as long as the crime is a federal offense. But it does not give him the power to make such decisions regarding his own actions.
"The Constitution specifically bars the president from using the pardon power to prevent his own impeachment or removal," they wrote in a 2017 Washington Post op-ed. "It adds that any official removed through impeachment remains fully subject to criminal prosecution. That provision makes no sense if the president could pardon himself."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/12/02/can-trump-pardon-himself-can-pardons-reversed-power-explained/3792550001/
Also on Lawrence last night:
https://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/tribe-any-argument-that-trump-can-pardon-himself-would-be-incompatible-with-the-constitution-97099845712