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DONALD Trump may use his last days as president to issue a cascade of pardons for himself, a move he had previously hinted he would do.
Trump, who faces a number of legal challenges when leaving the White House, has previously used his presidential powers to grant executive clemency to his supporters, including commutation of Roger Stone’s sentence.
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The president has long established a basis for the possibility that he could forgive himself, although no president has tried this before.
In 2018, the president tweeted: “As numerous jurists have said, I have the absolute right to FORGIVE ME, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong?”
He continued: “In the meantime, the never-ending Witch Hunt, led by 13 very angry and conflicting Democrats (and others) continues in the intervening periods!”
But academics remain in conflict over whether the president can definitely forgive himself, as the US constitution “does not provide a clear answer,” Reuters reported.
“When people ask me if a president can forgive himself, my answer is always, ‘Well, you can try,'” said Brian Kalt, professor of constitutional law at Michigan State University.
Jeffrey Crouch, assistant professor of American politics at American University, said in an op-ed in The Hill that: practical, therefore it should be permissible. “
Crouch noted that much of the jurisprudence that would support the president’s ability to forgive himself “differs greatly from the president’s judgment.”
In 2017, the president expressed that he had the “complete power to forgive.”
The president does not need to provide a reason to grant a pardon, a power defined in the United States Constitution that allows the commander-in-chief to completely overturn criminal convictions.
Pardons cannot be reviewed or reconsidered by other branches of government, but are generally not granted to people who have not yet been convicted of a crime.
Presidential power also only applies specifically to federal crimes, so if Trump pardons himself, he could inadvertently establish himself guilty in current state investigations.
Trump could be prosecuted on charges including defamation, tax fraud and even obstruction of justice if the Biden Administration chooses to reactivate the investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller.
The Mueller Report details 10 times the president may have obstructed justice, but did not recommend criminal charges at the time.
In the report, Mueller said that Trump may have obstructed justice when the president suggested that former FBI Director James Comey drop his investigation into Michael Flynn before firing him and then attempting to fire Mueller.
Mueller, whom Attorney General William Barr said “there was no collusion” with Russia, rejected Trump and his administration, then added: “The president was not exonerated for the acts he allegedly committed.”
The Justice Department has stated that a sitting president cannot be impeached, a rule that will no longer apply when Trump leaves office.
Trump has often defended himself from the Mueller Report, the Washington Post reported.
“There was no collusion with Russia. There was no obstruction, and – none at all. And it was a complete and total exoneration, ”said Trump.
The president could face federal investigations for possible tax fraud after a report by The New York Times looking at Trump’s finances revealed that Trump, who has never released his tax returns, only paid $ 750 in federal income taxes that much in 2016 as in 2017.
Nick Akerman, a lawyer and former federal prosecutor, told Reuters the Times report “has all kinds of indications of tax fraud.”
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Prosecutors would have to prove that the president, who has claimed he has paid many millions of dollars in taxes, deliberately tried to commit fraud.
However, Trump could also face tax fraud charges in New York State, where Attorney General Letitia James has an active tax fraud investigation into Trump and the Trump Organization. Reuters reported.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has also tried to examine potential tax fraud and campaign finance violations. He has cited eight years of the president’s fiscal and financial records.
Trump challenged the subpoena before the Supreme Court, which rejected his claim for immunity from state criminal investigations in July.
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