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Unequivocal, don't know. Its never happened, so there is no precedent.
But, they can pardon anyone for anything, except if they were paid to do so.
But, they can pardon anyone for anything, except if they were paid to do so.
Can the president pardon himself?
Posted from nbcnews.comPosted in these groups: 
Law
Office of the President (POTUS)
Law Office of the President (POTUS)
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 8
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I don't believe so. But technically I do not think the President can actually break the law (not in the traditional sense anyway). Yes, he can be impeached, and I think that prevents him from using his pardoning powers because that is a separate thing. That being said, a follow-on President could definitely pardon him after he leaves (or is forced to leave) office. That has already happened in the past.
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If you, your family, and your close associates haven't done anything wrong, as Trump continues to claim......why be inquiring about pardons? If he does in fact pardon himself.....he is admitting that he has broken the law. The pardon would keep him from being prosecuted....but impeachment and removal from office would have to follow. If he tries to pardon himself.....he is done.
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CPT Kevin Connolly
Legally, the acceptance of a pardon is an admission of guilt except when the pardon says it is granted on grounds of innocence.
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No. To be pardoned, a person must first be indicted and convicted. An indicted and convicted President is no longer President and thus has no power to pardon anyone, including him or herself.
Now, why don't we be honest and deal with what you really want to say. Can President Trump pardon himself. The implication is that he has done something worthy of indictment and conviction. Okay, where's the evidence? Take your rumors and innuendo and shove them. Show us the evidence...
Now, why don't we be honest and deal with what you really want to say. Can President Trump pardon himself. The implication is that he has done something worthy of indictment and conviction. Okay, where's the evidence? Take your rumors and innuendo and shove them. Show us the evidence...
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CPT Jack Durish
PO1 (Join to see) - Why didn't President Nixon pardon himself? He was indicted but not yet convicted. President Clinton was indicted but not convicted in the Senate (he later admitted his perjury during the civil trial and had to make a public confession on his last day in office and then surrender his license to practice law). To be fair, I never understood why President Ford pardoned Nixon inasmuch as he wasn't convicted. I understand that it was a political decision to keep the country from put through the agony of having Nixon stand trial. I suspect that Hillary won't be indicted (might even be pardoned by President Trump if necessary) for the same reason.
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CPT Jack Durish
Capt Gregory Prickett - Thanks for the clarification. To be fair, when I speak of a President being indicted, I talking of Impeached. Conviction comes in a trial in the Senate. That process removes a President from office.
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LTC John Shaw
Capt Gregory Prickett CPT Jack Durish CW3 (Join to see) MSgt Michael Bischoff Ex parte Garland, 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 333(1866). Congress cannot punish someone for a crime that person has been pardoned. If President Trump wanted to Pardon Trump Jr. or whomever. This does not mean that Congress needs to stop the investigation, Congress still have an oversight authority and could continue to pursue even if they could not apply any punishment.
We have not had any significant amount of case law on Pardon's in some time as Nixon resigned and President Ford pardoned Nixon. We live in interesting times!
We have not had any significant amount of case law on Pardon's in some time as Nixon resigned and President Ford pardoned Nixon. We live in interesting times!
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Capt Dwayne Conyers
Bush and Cheney were not indicted for the Valerie Plame goat rope, but... Woulda coulda?
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