President Trump has reportedly been asking about whether he has the power to pardon himself if he has any legal challenges when exiting the Oval Office.
Former White House aides told CNN anonymously that the president has been asking about the possibility since 2017. According to one official, Trump has been asking about pardons for his family and himself, as well as if he could use pardons preemptively for things people could be charged with in the future.
“Once he learned about it, he was obsessed with the power of pardons,” the official said. “I always thought he also liked it because it was a way to do a favor.”
Presidents have the constitutional power to pardon or give clemency, but a pardon can only be issued for a federal crime. They can’t be used for impeachment cases tried and convicted by Congress.
Trump has given a number of high-profile pardons during his presidential tenure, including former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, right-wing commentator Dinesh D’Souza, ex-Wall Street financier Michael Milken, and Scooter Libby, a former adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney.
He has also granted pardons at the request of Kim Kardashian West, who helped push for the commutation of Alice Marie Johnson, a now 65-year-old grandmother who was sentenced to life in prison plus 25 years in the 1990s for being involved in a nonviolent drug conspiracy. Trump granted Johnson a full pardon earlier this year.
If Trump were to pardon himself, he wouldn’t be clear of any charges that may occur from his private ventures with the Trump Organization, which is under investigation by the New York attorney general’s office and the Manhattan district attorney.
Some aides believe the president will attempt to pardon himself, but others are hesitant because it may imply he is guilty of wrongdoing.
Trump may grant an 11th hour pardon to some close to him before he leaves office, such as those he believes were unfairly targeted for prosecution during the Russia investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Among the names floated for possible pardons include former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, George Papadopoulos, and Paul Manafort, who both worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign. Officials say Flynn would be at the top of the president’s list.
Several media outlets declared Biden the winner of the election last week after the former vice president secured Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes. Trump has not conceded to Biden and is currently in the middle of legal battles ongoing in several key swing states over allegations of voter fraud. Little evidence has been presented to support the president’s lawsuits.
