Why Trump wants to forgive himself and his family

Analysis

Why Donald Trump wants to forgive himself and his family

The American president is once again breaking all the rules. (Almost) nobody can stop it.

The right to clemency is an important privilege of a President of the United States. It is actually meant to undo past mistakes. But it can also be misused. For example, Bill Clinton pardoned the oil trader Marc Rich, who had fled to Zug, mainly because his wife was a generous donor to his campaigns. Richard Nixon’s pardon for his former MP Gerald Ford is also controversial to this day.

Trump wouldn’t be Trump if he didn’t even set new standards. He has already pardoned his former security adviser, Michael Flynn, who twice admitted under oath that he lied to the FBI. Trump overturned his former partner Roger Stone’s prison sentence and saved dubious figures like Joe Arpaio, the Arizona sheriff notorious for his brutality, from jail.

Now Trump is about to achieve great success. According to the New York Times, he wants to forgive not only himself, but his entire family as a precaution. As in the Monopoly, he wants to give them a free pass in the face of possible prison sentences. Your lawyer Rudy Giuliani should also benefit from this free pass.

The idea came from Fox News host Sean Hannity. On his radio show, he asked Trump to “forgive himself and his entire family as a precautionary measure.” This is the only way you can protect yourself from being persecuted by your political opponents. But can Trump even do this? The Wall Street Journal explains:

Can the president forgive his children and friends?

If he can. The Constitution of the United States gives the president the right to grant virtually unlimited pardons. In 1866, the Supreme Court held that this right was “unlimited” except in cases of accusation, adding: “It includes all criminal offenses known by law and can be exercised at any time, either before legal action is taken. either during a trial or after a conviction. “

Therefore, children and friends can be forgiven. Trump would not be the first to do this. In 2000, Bill Clinton forgave his half brother Roger and his longtime girlfriend, Susan McDougal.

A pardon cannot be revoked, not even by the successor.

Can the president forgive himself?

Yes and no. The issue has not been legally clarified, and probably never will be. That suits Trump perfectly, he clarified himself. As early as 2018, he tweeted: “Many law professors have stated that I have the absolute right to forgive myself.”

Can the president write a blank clemency check?

This question cannot be answered with a clear yes or no either. Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon for all crimes during his tenure. Jimmy Carter has issued blank checks to all young men who fled to Canada to evade military service during the Vietnam War.

Most jurists agree that the president cannot issue a blank clemency check for crimes that have not yet been committed. However, you can offer a pardon in the future, if you are still in office.

Is there any control over the right to pardon?

The Supreme Court has ruled that the pardon is not under its control. A corrupt pardon can be prosecuted, but not revoked.

Are Trump, his family, and his friends out of the woods with this? Not quite. There is an important distinction in American law, namely whether a crime is being prosecuted by federal or state authorities. That means: if Washington or the capital of a single state is responsible for it.

The president can only pardon crimes that have been committed at the “federal” level. At the state level, it is powerless. That could be Trump’s undoing. Some of the lawsuits against him are brought by a state criminal justice agency.

A case led by Cyrus Vance Jr., Attorney General for the Manhattan District, is particularly sensitive for Trump. It’s about the infamous payments to pornstar Stormy Daniels, but probably tax fraud as well. Trump cannot protect himself against this procedure.

This also applies to his daughter Ivanka. The District of Columbia Attorney’s Office is investigating them. These are scams related to donations to the opening ceremony in January 2017.

Seen this way, Trump has other reasons to fight for office than an offended ego. Yet it does so in increasingly absurd ways. Lately he’s been toying with his saliva once again devoted, Attorney General William Barr. He expressed what everyone has known for a long time: Joe Biden won the election and there is no significant electoral fraud. According to the Washington Post, the president wants to fire Barr shortly before the door closes.