Trump declares that he has the absolute right to pardon himself
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The US President Donald Trump asserted his presidential power and escalated his efforts and declared that he has the “absolute right” to pardon himself and attacking the investigation as “totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL!”
In a morning tweet, the president said: “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?”
The tweet followed The New York Times’ publication of a confidential letter over the weekend, in which Trump’s lawyers argued to special counsel Robert Mueller that the president’s broad powers mean he could not have obstructed justice.
The 20-page letter also suggested that the president even wields the constitutional ability to exercise the pardon power in matters related to the special counsel’s probe of the links between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Trump’s comments on Twitter came a day after attorney Rudy Giuliani played down the possibility that the president could pardon himself, suggesting he might have that authority but would be unwise to use it.
The assertion that a U.S. president holds an “absolute” power to pardon himself was endorsed on Sunday by Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York and a current member of Trump’s legal team.
In an ABC News interview, Giuliani said Trump “probably does” have the power to pardon himself, though “he has no intention” of doing so.
