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Will Trump pardon himself?

Will Trump pardon himself?

  • Total voters
    58
  • Poll closed .
I think he'll try.

And much of his inner circle. His family, and Giuliani especially.

I honestly don't see him trying to pull some sort of mass pardon on all of his followers though.
 
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JoeMorgue said:
I think he'll try.

And much of his inner circle. His family, and Giuliani especially.

I honestly don't see him trying to pull some sort of mass pardon on all of his follows though.
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He doesn't care for them, even one little bit. He doesn't care if those gibbering morons that keep flocking to him live or die. When they are no more use to him, he'll dump them like toilet paper. When he sees he has no more use for them, the very possibility of pardoning them won't cross what passes for a mind with him. He won't even try. The possibility of trying will not even cross his mind.
 
Part of the reason I think he will is because the likes of his daughter and son-in-law and lawyer will want pardons and with Trump unless they can make him think he is getting something in exchange for their pardons he has no reason to grant them pardons.
 
I considered voting no, because Trump doesn't believe he committed any crimes, and a self-pardon would be an admission of crimes. But then I decided that Trump is too stupid to think about such matters and only wants to save his worthless carcass.
 
I voted yes, in sense that he will TRY to pardon himself. Success of that try is different story, of course.

IMO there should be three options in poll:
> No, he won't try to pardon himself.
> Yes, he will try to pardon himself, but he will fail.
> Yes, he will try to pardon himself and he will be pardoned.
 
shemp said:
I considered voting no, because Trump doesn't believe he committed any crimes, and a self-pardon would be an admission of crimes. But then I decided that Trump is too stupid to think about such matters and only wants to save his worthless carcass.
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In seriousness if Trump doesn't try that is almost certainly the reason, that he simply can't think of it except as an admission of guilt and Trump can do no wrong in Trump's head.

If Trump pardons other people and not himself, then it absolutely certainly is the reason.
 
JoeMorgue said:
In seriousness if Trump doesn't try that is almost certainly the reason, that he simply can't think of it except as an admission of guilt and Trump can do no wrong in Trump's head.

If Trump pardons other people and not himself, then it absolutely certainly is the reason.
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He's been asking people for months about self-pardoning. As well as for his family and Guiliani. I think it absolutely has occurred to him.
 
timhau said:
Are there any formal requirements for a presidential pardon?

I so hope there are, because Trump's crack legal team would screw it up.
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No. As being discussed in the other threads Presidential Pardon powers are nearly unrestricted.

Literally the only Federal Crime a President technically can't impeach is one related to impeachment.

Now to me the "President Can't Pardon Himself" is covered under that, but as stated legal scholars literally have made careers out of answering questions related to pardons so....
 
JoeMorgue said:
No. As being discussed in the other threads Presidential Pardon powers are nearly unrestricted.

Literally the only Federal Crime a President technically can't impeach is one related to impeachment.
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Yes, but that wasn't what I tried to ask. Can he screw things up somehow by issuing a pardon that isn't valid for some technical reason?
 
Does he think he has done anything that requires a pardon ?

I suppose he could pardon himself even though he's done nothing wrong to protect himself against malicious prosecution. :rolleyes:
 
timhau said:
Yes, but that wasn't what I tried to ask. Can he screw things up somehow by issuing a pardon that isn't valid for some technical reason?
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There is no "technical."

"The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment."

That's it. That's the whole thing. That's all it says. There's no technicality beyond that.

Everything else is either tradition or someone's interpretation.
 
I opined on this elsewhere on the Intertubes weeks ago. As I see it, there's huge downsides to Trump being out of office without a pardon, since he's obvious guilty of lots of stuff. But it's not clear that a self-pardon has any downsides, and could have huge upsides. If the courts decide a self-pardon isn't valid, it's not like "...and he tried to pardon himself!" will add much to his legal woes, but if the self-pardon is allowed to stand, he skates on all the (Federal-level, at least) **** he's pulled.

It's like if I offered you a free chance to win a million dollars. Even if the odds were 10 million to one against you winning, you'd try it anyways, because it's a free try. You lose nothing if you lose, but win big if you win.

So he will almost certainly try this.
 
Yes, I think he will pardon himself with some vague wording about what it's actually for. If ever charged and the self-pardon is challenged, I don't think it would hold up.

Regardless, I hope in every interview from now until his last day, he is asked, "What offense against the United States did you pardon yourself for?"
 
If he does Biden should literally pardon himself for anything he does for the next 4 years the moment he takes office.
 
Mader Levap said:
I voted yes, in sense that he will TRY to pardon himself. Success of that try is different story, of course.

IMO there should be three options in poll:
> No, he won't try to pardon himself.
> Yes, he will try to pardon himself, but he will fail.
> Yes, he will try to pardon himself and he will be pardoned.
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Actually I think there should be 4 options... your 'pardon himself/will be pardoned' needs to be broken down....

1) no he won't pardon himself
2) yes he will pardon himself, he gets charged anyways, the pardon fails, Trump ends up in jail
3) He pardons himself, is charged, and the courts find the pardon valid
4) He pardons himself, but the incoming Biden administration either never bothers to pursue charges (maybe because they fall for the 'heal the divide' bunk, or because Trump gets charged at the state level and doesn't want to interfere with it), or gets a second (valid) pardon from Biden, for the same reasons given, so the validity of Trump's self pardon is never tested.
 
JoeMorgue said:
No. As being discussed in the other threads Presidential Pardon powers are nearly unrestricted.
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No. As being discussed in the other threads Presidential Pardon powers are nearly unrestricted.
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Well, I can think of one way he could screw up...

Instead of issuing a blanket pardon, issue a pardon for certain crimes (e.g. "I pardon myself of crimes related to the riot") but fail to mention other crimes (Like tax fraud).

Or, heck, maybe his 'crack legal team' will make a simple paperwork error... "I pardon Ronald Gump". "Great, so we won't charge Ronald Gump. But Donald Trump is fair game".
 
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