Via Twitter…..
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!
…
Now this IS an issue….
No ONE REALLY thinks trying such a thing would keep Trump in office ….
We all think that his chances of being impeached are slim to none….
But following in the steps of Richard Nixon and firing his Attorney General and others to stop Robert Mueller would be working his way towards changing the ball game….
Pardoning HIMSELF even before the midterms would make sure that an impeachment effort’s odds would vastly improve….
Even his mouthpiece lawyer Rudy Giuliani doesn’t think his view that he can get himself off the hook is a good idea….
Donald J. Trump is a man who has the view that he can do ANYTHING he wants….
That the rules and law applies to everyone else except HIM….
As much as he twists and turns?
Becoming President has made his escape form scrutiny impossible….
We’ll see if America will handle him as man NOT above the law….
Or…
Because of Politics?
Untouchable….
Rudy Giulain and Chris Christie….
…while arguing that the president has the theoretical ability to pardon himself, Giuliani and other Trump allies on Sunday nonetheless rejected the reality of such a brash move — in part because of the political backlash they said could lead to Trump’s impeachment.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” for instance, Giuliani framed the pardon question as purely hypothetical and politically implausible. “It’s not going to happen. It’s a hypothetical point,” he told host Chuck Todd.
He went on to describe such a move as “unthinkable,” and said it would probably lead immediately to impeachment.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is in regular touch with the president, was even more blunt than Giuliani, appearing on the ABC news program shortly after Trump’s attorney.
“Listen, there’s no way that’ll happen, and the reason it won’t is because then it becomes a political problem,” Christie said when asked about the notion that Trump might pardon himself. “If the president were to pardon himself, he’ll get impeached.”
image…npr
jamesb says
Donald Trump, by himself, is working overtime to get his ass off the hook, and he don’t care how he does it, or who goes down for it…..
In our lifetime, no president has matched Donald Trump’s ability to summon the power of the pulpit, friendly media, and the tweet-by-tweet power of repetition and persuasion to move minds en masse.
The big picture: You see this in the silence of Republican critics; the instant shifts in GOP views of the FBI, Putin and deficits; and the quick, widespread adoption of his branding efforts around “deep state,” “Spygate” and “no collusion.” We hear so much, so often that we become numb to what Trump is doing. This allows big things (such as fundamental shifts in governing norms) to seem like small things or nothing at all….
More…
jamesb says
“If I were President of the United States and I had a lawyer that told me I could pardon myself, I think I would hire a new lawyer.”
— Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA), quoted by CNN, on President Trump claiming he had an “absolute right” to pardon himself….
Politicalwire…
jamesb says
This IS WHAT I mean when I say I’m worried about the DOJ view on charging a sitting President….
Rudy Giuliani has said that Donald Trump’s presidential powers are so great that he couldn’t be indicted even if he shot former FBI Director James Comey.
Giuliani used the vivid example to illustrate his claim that there is no way to start criminal proceedings against a sitting president, regardless of what they do, without impeaching them first.
Giuliani, who is leading Trump’s defense team, told HuffPost on Sunday:
“In no case can he be subpoenaed or indicted. I don’t know how you can indict while he’s in office. No matter what it is…..
More…
jamesb says
This IS simply CRAZY SHIT….
The American President should NOT be viewed as a King….
There HAS to be a way to hold an American President responsible for crimes that he might commit OUTSIDE the impeachment process that could be compromised by politics, like they are today ….
CG says
The impeachment process will almost always work as intended, with the support of the American people.
There’s also the 25th Amendment though.
jamesb says
Updates….
Sentence of the day … WashPost: “[P]rivate moves by Trump’s attorneys and advisers indicate that — despite the president’s public bravado — they are readying for a fraught legal confrontation that could have far-reaching consequences.”
…
N.Y. Times Quote of the Day … Peter Shane, a law professor at The Ohio State University and co-author of a casebook on separation of powers, quoted in a front-pager, “Trump and His Lawyers Embrace a Vision of Vast Executive Power”:
“We overthrew control by a monarchy, and the Constitution signals in multiple places that the president is subject to law.”
Axios…