Skip to main content

Tamburino Talks Law: Could President Trump Pardon himself?

 

The issue of Pres. Trumps ability to pardon himself first came up in 2018 around impeachment. At the time, Pres. Trump asserted he had the right to pardon himself under the 25th amendment. Now the topic resurfacing in the media with observers debating whether a president can pardon themselves. It's a open legal question because it's never been test - no president has actually tried to pardon himself. 

So, could President Trump pardon himself for any crimes that he may have committed? Listen to my take in Tamburino Talks Law or read the article below.


There are no definitive legal answers to that question, but I truly believe that the U.S. Constitution does not allow a president to pardon himself.  


Let’s look at a few points: the pardon power in the Constitution, a president’s constitutional obligation to faithfully execute laws, and the structure of our government.  The pardon power is found under Art. II, Sec. 2 of the Constitution and it clearly gives the president the power to pardon anyone for any federal offenses, but it doesn’t specifically state that he can pardon himself.  It doesn’t say that he can’t, but we need to read that section in conjunction with Art. II, Sec. 3 in order for presidential powers to make sense.  Art. II, Sec. 3 states that the president must ensure that laws are faithfully executed. 


Therefore, the only way to reconcile the pardon power with the obligation to faithfully execute laws is to interpret the Constitution as not allowing a president to pardon himself.  Think of it – how can a president faithfully execute laws yet at the same time break those laws and be legally allowed to pardon himself?  It just wouldn’t make sense.

 

Also, the very structure of our government intimates that a president can’t pardon himself. The Constitution set up a federal government of limited powers, i.e., the people give power to the government and not the reverse.  The federal government is not all-powerful and must recognize laws, due process and civil rights.  Therefore, it would make no sense that a president would be above the law and be allowed to grant himself pardons for his crimes.  Only an absolute monarch, a supreme king, has such power, and we don’t have kings in America.


The likely legal outcome if the president did try to pardon himself is the issue would go to the courts and many of the legal arguments I've made would determine he does not have the power to pardon himself. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tamburino Talks Law: Gov. Walz Issues Statewide Mask Order

Click Here to Listen to Tamburino Talks Law: Governor Walz Issues Statewide Mask Order When the new rule goes into effect July 25th, Minnesota will be the latest of about 30 states who've introduced similar mask-wearing requirements. Gov. Walz makes it mandatory that anyone older than 2 years old wear a mask when they enter any building or structure that is open to the public.  Such places would include gas stations, stores, coffee shops, public restrooms and schools.   Public and private schools and places of higher-learning are expected to open in some form this fall, and anyone entering those places (students, faculty, staff, or visitors) would need to wear a mask as part of the order.  The order would also apply to anyone in daycare and after-school centers, which means that a 4 year old child in preschool up to a twenty-something student in college would need to wear masks when they’re at school. While individuals can face a misdemeanor fine of up to $100 or a busine...

Tamburino Talks Law: Minnesota on New York State Travel Advisory List

Click Here to Listen to Tamburino Talks Law: Minnesota on New York State Travel  Advisory  List  Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York recently added Minnesota to the list of approximately 22 states that are part of  New York  special travel advisories and quarantine rules.   New York  decided that any person traveling to  New York  from a state that has a positive Covid-19 testing rate in excess of 10%, or a number of positive cases exceeding 10 per 100,000 residents, based on a 7 day rolling average, must self quarantine for 14 days before they are allowed to travel freely within  New York  state.  There are exceptions for essential workers (such as health care professionals), and for people who are simply traveling through  New York  and would only be in the state for less than 24 hours.  The new rules also differentiate airline travel from non-airline travel.  First, if you fly into any airport in  New York...

COVID - 19 Creates Two Profound Crises

Covid-19 is obviously creating two profound crises - health and economic, and right now we seem to be in a tailspin on both.  But, unless we get control of our economy quickly, we will not have the resources to attend to our health crisis.  If our economy bottoms out, the dollar’s value will plummet, no one will buy government bonds, and our economy will shrink to such a degree that it will rival the worst years of the Great Depression in the 1930s. We can’t continue to stay home, not work, not spend $, and not produce goods and services. We need to get back to work. Therefore, the government should change its social policy immediately to one where all people over 70 and/or people who have underlying immunocompromised medical conditions should stay home and self-quarantine, and the rest of us should go to work.  The large majority of people who contract the virus will survive without the need of any hospitalization or extraordinary medical care, which mean...