If there’s anything that can undo the accomplishments made by President Trump in the last year and a half, it’s his damn Twitter account.
On Monday morning, he tweeted this:
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2018
Later, he tweeted this:
The appointment of the Special Counsel is totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL! Despite that, we play the game because I, unlike the Democrats, have done nothing wrong!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2018
*spit take*
What in God’s name are you doing, Mr. President?
Rather than let Rudy Giuliani and the rest of your legal team fight your war with the media on whether or not a president can pardon himself, you essentially took their gun, aimed directly at your feet, emptied the magazine, and proceeded to pour salt all over the wounds.
An added detriment in all of this is that Trump is stealing negative press from former President Bill Clinton after he got defensive when NBC’s Craig Melvin asked him if he should ever apologize to Monica Lewinsky in light of the #MeToo era.
Trump just couldn’t let those incredibly tone deaf comments from Clinton simmer, he just couldn’t let this one go.
But, since we’re on the topic, contrary to the numerous legal scholars Trump is citing, we should see what the argument was for a president the last time something like this came up.
When Richard Nixon was in office, his own Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel concluded that a president cannot pardon himself, stating, “Under the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case, the President cannot pardon himself.”
That statement came out four days before President Nixon resigned from office.
While we’re not entirely certain that Trump will pardon himself — particularly because he believes he hasn’t done anything wrong — doing so would set a dangerous legal precedent going forward. We’ve seen presidents break laws before, and subsequently not get called out or prosecuted for it. However, Trump pardoning himself would be a signal to future presidents that they are definitively above the law.
It cannot be further understated, Trump isn’t doing himself any favors by keeping this topic at the front of everyone’s minds.
[Related: Chris Christie: Trump will be impeached if he pardons himself]
