The Second Amendment will turn society into a never-ending bloodbath, but just to make sure we maintain an utterly corrupt gangster state, let's thrown in "presidential pardon" while we're at it.
--your friends, the Founding Fathers
2
One silver lining: Americans will finally realize our entire justice system is designed to control and persecute the innocent and insulate the guilty from all accountability.
1
What that great legal mind of the 21st century, Trump, fails to recognize is that his motivation and state of the mind plays a large part in determining whether his actions are sanctioned or not. While he may be in principle be authorized to terminate the Russian investigation, he may not do so if the reason for it is to avoid being caught with his pants down.
1
It's so funny to hear trump talk about things that are "unconstitutional" - or even more so, "TOTALLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL" - when we all know that he knows absolutely NOTHING - zero, zip! - of what is in the Constitution. The same goes when he uses words like "illegal", "against the law", "unlawful", "I'm going to order an investigation...", and other words or combinations of words that have to do with knowing and/or interpreting the law.
Maybe it comes from his former position as the president of an institute of higher learning; maybe it comes from him suing everyone on the planet for anything and everything imaginable; maybe it comes from him listening to the characters on Fox News reflecting on (and dismissing) sober legal concepts...but whatever it is, trump now miraculously possesses one of the keenest legal minds - probably in the world! - capable of isolating and interpreting the finest nuances of the law with breathtaking, surgical precision. There is nothing this man can't do.
But then again - this is trump, quipper of "I spent 10 minutes listening to (someone) talk about (something), and now I know more than any other person - maybe even in the history of the world!!! - about (that thing)".
He is a nothing but an artless mimic, soaking up words and phrases like a sponge and then squeezing them out - with all the accompanying fetid, unHoly water - to sprinkle over any circumstances he needs to avoid or fake his way out of.
5
Serious question: Is Trump criminally insane? Very likely. Problem: There appears to be enough lunatics/beneficiaries in the GOP, plus many voters, who now seem to think it normal, so how will this play out....? I.e. how will, or even can this be resolved - in a democracy such as America's? I would like to offer advice but only Americans will be knowledgeable enough do so.
George
1
Today’s final jeopardy question: “What a dictator would say”
4
No one but no one in this country should be above the law, period! Whether it is someone sweeping floors in a market or the President of the United States.
When a President declares himself to be above the law, it is step one to a dictatorship!!!!
3
I'm hoping America will come out of this nightmare so armored, that anything like it will never happen again. Otherwise, it will just have been a pipe dream that began in 1775 and ended in 2018. MAGA??
1
Lets give Trump the benefit of the doubt given his long history of gaffes and misdeeds he probably got confused by the phrase pardon me.
1
The walls are closing in, aren't they. And Trump is getting desperate, isn't he.
3
"I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that"
Indeed, why would he even broach the issue? He sounds more frightened every day.
1
What the GOP has failed to realize is that there are many Republicans voters who want to show Trump the door as soon as possible.
I know quite a few of them. Many of them are now Independents.
Right here in in CT. the strong Republican towns (New Canaan, Darien, Wilton, Greenwich) voted in 2016 for ...... Hillary Clinton.
Well educated, well off, and well-informed voters put common sense ahead of party and did the only sensible thing in the privacy of their voting booths.
Encourage correct thinking Republicans to send a message to the GOP by changing their registration to Democrat prior to the election this November.
Or register as an Independent, depending on strength of conviction.
Later on register again to whatever is preferred.
Or become an Independent.
It is all a matter of choice based on prevailing circumstances.
But this time around .......... Trump must go.
7
Pardoning himself, the ultimate in narcissism.
2
Trump only honors himself. And even though we all were taught to place our hand over our hearts during the National Anthem, which Trump does not do, there could be a few reasons: he feels he is above everyone else and does not have to follow any rules, or he is ignorant of this custom to honor our Flag and all who spilled their blood for our liberty, or maybe it hurts his bone spurs too much.
2
When the flag learns to salute him, he may decide to return the compliment.
1
What's worse, a President who threatens to pardon himself for his own crimes, or a Republican Congress who continues to support him?
The GOP has gone completely off the rails in an orgy of corruption and incompetence, and it has taken our democracy with it.
23
When DJT said during the campaign he can shoot somebody on 5th Ave. and get away with it, he is not joking then or now. I think he actually believes it.
Terrifying.
16
Anyone else wondering whether he he already has gotten away with murdering someone on Fifth Avenue? The man does like to brag.
1
Let's celebrate this Fourth of July by revolting.
12
Oh, BTW, lock Paul Manafort up!
6
Shear you are a warrior!!! Keep up the excellent reporting.
3
Trump is a pathological liar and not a single moral fiber in his body. He has surrounded himself with fawning supplicants who view lying as nothing more than a tool in the toolbox. None of these people has a shred of dignity. As they say, the fish rots from the head.
17
Trump: "The Special Prosecutor is unconstitutional! (Loud laughter). Ok Ok Mueller was born in Ghana."
5
L'etat, c'est moi! The divine right of kings. Scary.
10
Can he also crown himself king?
5
Has he filed the pardon application yet? He needs to fill out and have sent to himself for review before he can proceed.
https://www.justice.gov/pardon/file/960581/download
But then he has a problem on Paragraph 3!
3. Five-year waiting period required
Under the Department's rules governing petitions for executive clemency, 28 C.F.R. §§ 1.1 et seq., an applicant must satisfy a minimum waiting period of five years before he becomes eligible to apply for a presidential pardon of his federal conviction. T
7
Innocent people do not behave as you have been behaving mr president.
Honest people know it. Your fellow crooks know it. It seems that only you do not know this.
5
Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!
2
Gosh, if only the GOP Congress wasn't bought and paid for by immoral right-wing oligarchs...we might already be impeaching and removing from office this pathetic and deplorable excuse for a human being.
19
"He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good." Decl. of Independence
5
How can this guy talk like that and get away with it? Seriously pardon yourself of a crime?
Does our military really salute this guy? Worries me that he could initiate a coup and take over the government. Will we see a Putin like state in America where Trump is an untouchable ruler?
Seriously if we survive this crazy person, we should fix the pardoning rules. Prez cannot pardon anyone connected with him/her in any way whatsoever. Period. Oh that includes self.
8
Wyatt, you bring up an interesting point about the military. DT is CinC of the armed forces. Might he possibly use them to quell demonstrations, or would they refuse to obey an illegal order?
2
If, as Trump and his lawyers claimed, that he could "terminate the inquiry," and he thinks it's an "unconstitutional witch hunt," then what's stopping him from doing so?
Go ahead King Donald. Terminate the investigation. We'll watch while we snack on our popcorn.
8
This is pretty bold for someone who LOST by 3 MILLION votes!
13
I don't know if he will get away with the "pardon me' scam or not. With greed running the show my guess will be yes, yes, he will get away with it. What I do know is that after a year and a half of exposure Trump is so dirty in so many different ways he's going to sound like a person walking through a crowded lobby; " Excuse me, pardon me, sorry, coming through, 'cuse me, pardon me, excuse me....
3
Well, he did write it in all caps. Doesn't that indicate a challenge-proof legal precedent?
6
Mr. Trump is say that he is above the law. A communist dictator probably would not say that.
2
I am relatively sure that the Revolutionary War, which the United States won, did away with the monarchical rule of this country.
Has everyone lost their minds?
10
So glad to read that the president is a Constitutional authority as well as the Czar. Now we get two for the price of one!
5
If a TV star makes an inappropriate tweet, his/her program is instantly closed. Tweets are thus scary, but unfortunately, not for the US President.
4
So Donald Trump may want to pardon himself.
Let’s ask ourselves what is a pardon? Whether your views are on the right or the left whether you like or hate Trump one thing is clear: a pardon means that a wrong was committed and it is pardoned.
Donald Trump just admitted he committed a crime.
10
Could he get away with such statements if civics was still being taught in our high schools?
4
Ya know, the fact that we are even having this conversation should give us pause for reflection. So many commentators seem to rationalize the issue, making it all about having their belief system accepted. Excuse me, the concept of "rule of law" is a foundation of democracy. Whatever your belief system, shouldn't you be even a little concerned about preserving a fundamental and mutually-beneficial principle of freedom?
4
It took 44 years to go from "I am not a crook" to "I am not a criminal." It took less than 18 months to go from that to "even if I were, there's nothing you can do about it."
12
"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?"
Good to hear, Mr. President, that since you're innocent you won't be pardoning yourself.
I will take you at your word. Obviously, if you did PARDON yourself, that would now be an admission of guilt.
But since you've done nothing wrong, and therefore won't be pardoning yourself, all is well. Yes?
6
The notion that he can pardon himself is a self-evident absurdity. That we even debate this shows how far gone we are. I think, and hope, that there are still five votes on the Supreme Court to reject this. That I am not certain of that, that no one is certain of that, also shows how far gone we are.
6
It is incorrect to state that "Monday’s tweets went further than before in trying to undermine the legal basis for the investigation into whether people on Mr. Trump’s campaign colluded with Russian meddling during the election, and whether anyone in the administration tried to cover up their activities" since the intended audience for Trump's tweet was clearly not jurists but his followers.
His unsupported claim that the Mueller investigation is unconstitutional was clearly intended to further weaken public support for Mueller's probe rather than to change the minds of serious legal scholars and jurists.
1
yep, it is in the preamble to the constitution; the restrictions stated, implied or derived from this Constitution of the United States of America, the oath of office, all amendments, laws and regulations shall for ever not apply to Donald Trump, his family or anyone that he designates.
3
Once the smoke clears, Pence can pardon Trump.
6
Like Nixon and Ford before them. What a thing to be proud of.
Better yet, Pence can legally pardon Trump while Trump is still in office.
This is how amoral and ruthless things can get.
Imagine the following scenario; Trump feigns an illness (verified by a variety of doctors willing to play ball), Pence assumes office temporarily, issues blanket pardons, then Trump makes a miraculous recovery!
People need to stop underestimating those who are currently occupying the White House.
Shocking but not surprising, considering the source. Please vote to Save America by ridding Washington DC of Trump (Democrats to impeach him) and all his unpatriotic/liars/Trump supporters in November 2018.
7
Should we assume that next week, it's time for the Reichstag, newly burned, to declare that Donald J. Trump is Führer for life? (Just thinking.....that didn't work out too well for the world or Germany last time the experiment was tried.)
8
Speaking of the Reichstag: Hitler did not win a majority in the German elections of 1933. He had a large minority. Fascism by election does not require a majority. It requires a large minority full of anger, some flaws and vulnerabilities in the constitution, moral and intellectual failure by other branches of government, some unusual and unexpected circumstances, and a charismatic (to some, anyway) leader without conscience or boundaries to his behavior. We fulfill all these conditions, as did the Weimar Republic in 1933.
5
There are the innocent, guilty (but little chance of being discovered), guilty( with good chance of being discovered). With this “ I can pardon myself “tweet, I think we can place Mr Trump in the last category.
3
I reject President Trump's claim that he can pardon himself. I also reject his claims that the appointment of Special Counsel Mueller was unconstitutional, that neither Special Mueller nor federal courts have the power to subpoena him, that it is solely his voluntary choice whether or not to be interviewed or testify, and that if he refuses to comply with a subpoena neither Special Counsel Mueller nor the federal courts can take any enforcement action against him. I do acknowledge that, like any other American citizen, he has the right to assert his Fifth Amendment rights not to testify against himself -- but he has to respod to a subpoena by citing the Fifth Amendment, he cannot simply ignore the subpoena.
If the President cannot be held accountable under our nation's federal criminal laws for any felonies or misdemeanors he may have committed, and if he is completely immune from legal process by Special Counsel Mueller, the Department of Justice or the federal judiciary, then we no longer live in a democratic republic, and we now live in a dictatorship.
20
A President that claims he has the ability to pardon himself is clearly unable, in my opinion, to discharge the duties of his office; and should be immediately removed from office per the 25th Amendment.
Furthermore, anyone who is in a position to act on the 25th Amendment and chooses not to, should be investigated for possible treason, as there is a good case to be made that these activities give aid and comfort to enemies.
5
what is next? Trump shoots someone and found guilty and he pardons himself.
We definitely have a moron in the WH.
He is truly mentally ill and GOP lawmakers are spineless to do anything because they want to get reelected.
12
I think we should remind them that if not for the Federal government none of them would have phones or electricity, and many would have no running water. They'd have no crop insurance, no black lung compensation, no mine safety rules. The few that have health insurance wouldn't have it. Well, maybe now that wires are not required, they would have phones. But it would be a new thing for them. And who pays for all this? The taxpayers of New York, California, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, etc. Somehow, though, I don't think they would be receptive to this message.
4
My view is that it is the job of those in the judicial branch to determine what is constitutional or not. I don't believe it is appropriate for the President to comment on the constitutionality of a federal investigation, who is being investigated notwithstanding. I offer this personal view based on my own understanding on the Constitution.
Moreover, per Article 2, Section 3 of the Constitution, the executive branch's duties requires faithful execution of the laws. (To be clear - execution of laws is neither creation of laws nor judgement of laws)
6
I can't help but think that if a genie granted him three wishes, he's wish for more wishes.
4
Trump is correct. The special counsel statute is clearly illegal, violative of the separation of powers, making any indictments and convictions secured by Mueller illegitimate.
1
Thanks, Steve. Our SC Justices are grateful for your special insight.
2
The world is watching as your beautiful country and all that it stands for is being degraded with each passing day. How can this insanity be allowed to continue in civil society- something else that Mr Trump has demolished somehow. It is imperative that everyone votes this fall as it is amazing how quickly things go bad when good people drop the ball. Godspeed .
16
Not objectively the worst, but in many ways the saddest part of this whole thing for many of us in the United States is to see what so many of our countrymen really are like, in mind and heart. Even if we escape from this fascist trap, we will never see America the way we did before, ever again. And neither will the people of the rest of the world. Our people went 40% for fascism, racism, ignorance and hate, that is to say, at the same rate as the people of other countries with far fewer moral and political pretensions than ours. We failed, as a nation, and our Constitution failed too. Even if we come through this, it has already failed. We should never have had this kind of close call - assuming we get throught it, to call it, later, a close call.
3
Yes, the trump crime "family" does as it pleases.
12
Do current cabinet members realize djt can shoot them and not be prosecuted ?
1.) as president, nothing djt does is wrong-- even shooting someone it is not wrong for the president.
2.) besides djt can pardon himself if he ever did manage to do something wrong.
Do current cabinet members realize djt can shoot them and will not be prosecuted ?
And you have to admire the restraint previous presidents have shown by not shooting someone/many.
4
II our rights are inalienable and self-evident then surely it is equally self-evident and inalienable that a President accused of treason or obstruction of justice or of using his powers to enrich himself or of any corruption or violation of his/her oath of office can no more pardon himself/herself than a person can claim citizenship by self deportation.
3
If Presidents have the power to pardon themselves then why didn't Nixon do it?
6
The pardon power, in my opinion, is not a referendum on justice or injustice - but rather a means to grant mercy. If pardons were there to make a statement about justice or injustice then there'd be no practical purpose to having court proceedings or a jury trial. You could just have a King or Authority Figure declare who's guilty or who isn't.
Just my view, I don't think my view is necessarily the best way, or the moral way.
1
Because Article II of the Constitution expressly forbids a presidential pardon in the case of impeachment. So Nixon was smarter than Trump. Let that sink in.
2
because he didn't have to; Ford did it for him
2
Well, Trump is an expert at Constitutional law, so I guess it's case closed. Mueller can close shop and we can return to normal governance under Pres. Trump.
Oh, wait.......
5
"And then Nero tossed his grapes aside, grabbed his IPhonus VIII marble tablet and chiseled away: Rome is MINE, I can burn it down if I want to. Sad! ;)"
As others have said, what a time to be alive.
9
His mental illness is at critical mass, time for him to go. He has begun a rewrite of the Constitution, can't wait.
9
All of these activities were foretold in our famous Holy Bible. In the last days a large economic, financial, and military empire will attempt to conquer the world by creating a hegemony.
A king shall rise and make a God out of himself, magnifying himself over everyone and insist on total autonomy. He will boast that he is greater than them all. (Daniel 11:36,37)
The King of the North will start to worship his military and spend lavishly on it. (Daniel 11:38). The strategy taken by this King of the North unravels and begins to become ($) very costly to him.
This empire will start losing his friends and allies. His allies will start to turn on him and, in the end, find himself all alone and isolated.
This King will start to become worried that he is losing power and begin to spy on everyone. Most people have heard of the infamous Big Brother is watching storyline where the government will be able to access public records for their own private use.
Giving no respect or consideration to subservient people or land. This King will act according to his own will. So great will he fancy himself to be, that he will even take on the Prince of Princes in battle, but in doing so he will seal his own doom. (Daniel 8:25)
2
King of the North, I've seen this movie before. It didn't end well and the Prince of Princes still hasn't shown up. Why should The PoP show up? The last time He got crucified. No telling what would happen this time?
I think the reach out by liberal voters to conservative voters is hilarious - if people can not of their own good conscience and common sense - not support trump and the republicans of their own volition - then I want to avoid these people like the plague they represent.
2
"Mr. Trump’s legal team said that the president could not, by definition, illegally obstruct any part of the Russia investigation because the Constitution gave him the power to end it in the first place."
That statement defies logic as well as the law. In no way does the possibility of being pardoned, even if it is a DIY pardon, mean that one cannot be guilty of breaking the law or violating the constitution. Were it so, no one could be guilty of breaking any federal law given that any such violation can be pardoned.
If one is pardoned, however, the Supreme Court ruled more than 100 years ago, in Burdick v. United States, that the acceptance of such a pardon carries with it the an implicit admission of guilt.
Either way, a pardon does in no way allow anyone, including the president, to avoid guilt when they behave contrary to the law. All a pardon does is remove some of the burden or stigma for having broken the law or mistakenly convicted of breaking the law after judgment has been passed.
As with most arguments from the Trump legal team, the premise of the chief executive's ability to elevate the person above the reach of the law is unsupported rhetoric and fantasy, nothing more.
6
The Trump base is a shrewd crowd. They know full well that mainstream America had moved past their outdated white supremacist nostalgia; and, therefore, only a morally and intellectually compromised narcissist like Trump can lead them to their fantasyland. His moral and intellectual flaws are exactly what makes him the perfect vessel to carry their diseased racial ideology. They care too much about their diseased racial ideology to let his deep personal flaws get in the way, and he is too narcissistic to reject their blind embrace of him on account of their diseased ideology ( that is, if he thinks it's a diseased ideology, which I doubt ).
2
I guess the idiot SCOTUS (recall Citizens United decision ) could make an argument for almost anything, including the ability of a president to pardon himself.
1
there are bigots and people who can compromise and support
bigots...........
I say as did Pythagorus : things equal to the same thing are equal
to each other.......if you bow to bigotry...you deserve the name
that goes with it..............
bigot
4
Sissi, Assad, Duerte, Xi... DHTs fellow self-pardoners
3
The "absolute right" (of kings) is not contained in the Constitution.
4
Mr. Trump acts like a guilty man because he is. Have always expected at some point the GOP leadership would cut its loses and move on. Sadly, they'll ride this Trump flush of American values as long as inhumanly possible.
5
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Thomas Jefferson
4
I suppose that for most of the past 2 years the Republicans always had the option of turning back on Trump, but we know appear to be reaching a point of no return.....Republicans, are you really prepared to destroy the Constitution and quite possibly the country in defense of Donald Trump?
7
He thinks he can pardon himself?
Do we need any more evidence that this person thinks he is a dictator? that he wants to be a dictator?
No other President would ever have said a thing like that. No other grown man would ever think something like that, let alone say it out loud.
As for Grassley's comment that Congress would impeach him the next day - don't make me laugh.
Republicans in Congress have lost all integrity. They'll go along with Trump no matter what he does.
6
Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution requires the President to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” The constitutionally prescribed presidential oath also mentions "faithful execution" of the Office of the Presidency. By requiring the president to "take care" to faithfully execute the law, the constitution is requiring the constitution is enjoining the president not to act on mere whim or impulse or grievance but to act deliberately and only for good and considered reasons with regard to the execution of the law. Pardoning himself and his cronies out of corrupt motives would subvert the law. I would not at all represent a faithful execution of the law. Our real problem though is that the Congress -- whose constitutional duty it is to hold the president his duty to see to the faithfully execution of the law -- has apparently abandoned its constitutional station. This is our real constitutional crisis. For once that happens the system of checks and balances is basically null and void and the constitution is rendered in-operative, for all practical purposes.
Mr. Trump doesn't know what is constitutional or unconstitutional since he has never read the Constitution. He has no idea what the Constitution means.
5
Some posit that Trump has no shame or fear of prosecution.
However, his latest statements are based upon great fear and shame. If he truly believed he did nothing wrong and if he truly believed Mueller's actions are unconstitutional, then he should release his tax returns and all other records to show Mueller is in fact on a witch hunt.
There is no downside to doing so because if Trump were to be impeached or indicted and if he were to be convicted in the Senate or by a jury, based purely upon emotion, all Trump would have to do is pardon himself.
If he were innocent, the quickest way to shut people up would be to release his tax returns and all relevant documents. He would also testify before a grand jury because he has the "best memory."
He is afraid, however, if he testifies, he won't be able to remember his lies. He is afraid we will find out he is a criminal. He is ashamed we will find out that he is not as wealthy as he claims and his "wealth" is the result of sordid dealings.
3
Of course he can pardon himself; he does it all the time. "Pardon me while I choose the least qualified people for my cabinet;" "Pardon me while I appoint an all-white federal judiciary;" "Pardon me while I lie through my teeth, about just about everything" Etcetera. And, the ultimate pardon: "Pardon me while I eviscerate the U.S. Constitution."
7
I'm quite sure the authority Mr. Trump cites can be traced back to some first year law student at an ideological law school, hopped up on fervent self-righteousness and hoping to grab a plum summer internship in the White House legal department.
1
"Trump Says Appointment of Special Counsel Is ‘Totally Unconstitutional’"
I don't think Trump actually KNOWS what the Constitution is about.
2
First, is this a joke? 'Shortly after, the White House echoed that sentiment with an email to reporters titled “President Donald J. Trump’s 500 Days of American Greatness.”' ?
And second, can anyone make this stop?
I honestly don't want to continue living.
Thanks, DJ Trump!
5
Karen, are you ok? I can relate to the pain that this man and his enablers can do to people who oppose them. So, if you are not ok, reach out.
Remind me again what the founders missed: electoral college system that elected two recent presidents, a system so very convoluted to remove a devisive President, and ...
3
Trump asserts many things, most of them false. According to WaPo, his running rate for public assertions is averaging around six false ones per day, not counting redundancies, for his entire occupation of the White House. I'll guess that, if true assertions ever approximate the number of false ones, someone will begin tracking the shocking number of truths, until he reaches a level considered to be presidential. I'll also guess that, if he ever reads the Constitution, someone will start the clock for the day he begins to understand it. For that day, I'll have my camera ready, so I can capture pigs flying.
4
I have been under the impression that it is the Supreme Court of the U.S. that decides what is and what is not in accord with the Constitution. Apparently this president has mistaken himself for those 9 Justices.
9
The Trump administration is so surreal & bizarre. Ever since he was elected by a minority vote, it felt as if American had entered the "Twilight Zone". Please lets vote out all who support Trump in November 2018!
4
This is one of the big fears that people had about Trump before the election. It's here now. Buckle your seatbelts - I have a feeling we'll soon know two things:
1) Just how degraded and corrupt our political system is, and how indifferent the American public is to a direct threat to democracy and the rule of law.
2) whether our Constitution can truly withstand such a brazen assault on it (and if not, what next?)
6
Someone needs to say it: if our president truly believes he can pardon himself, he is insane. This is simply not a question for learned scholarly debate - any third-grade student has a better grasp of civics than this nincompoop.
3
The Law and Order party, the GOP, should be up in arms about this. The fact that they aren't tells me they are in on the coup.
6
For a spokesperson to say that a self-pardon would be unthinkable is proof that they are in fact thinking about it. A thousand pardons would not wave away the daily, even hourly, lies, or the pain he causes the least among us.
3
Wouldn’t pardoning himself mean he is guilty?
11
If impeached, Trump would try to nullify the decision. What is sad (and dangerous) here is what tyranny the GOP will put up with to get the legislative, judicial, and regulatory outcomes it desires.
1
The President said there is nothing he did that would need to be pardoned. Of course, he could affirm this principle by refusing his own pardon.
1
Another "look a chicken." This isn't news. Trump's opinions don't matter because they're based on nothing other than the desire to deflect our attention from what's important. Trump's tweets should have been stopped long ago because they implicitly, if not explicitly, violate the Constitutional rights of whomever he attacks - and he always attacks somebody. He's happy to speak-tweet with the authority and power of his office (an absolute power, he claims) but that makes the tweets actionable.
"No one says I am above the law.
I AM the law."
1
DJT's lawyers will throw every delaying tactic out there to prevent him from being subpoenaed and testifying because he will absolutely commit perjury at an astounding level as well as display how little he 'knows'.
Listen to his June 2016 deposition re the suit brought by the chef at his DC hotel.
Unbelievable.
2
Don't get why dt is so obsessed with this investigation or would even think of need for a self-pardon since he has absolutely nothing to hide. [??Well that is speculative, nothing to hide based on his honesty and we all know how far that goes, each of these 500 days.]
2
Trump can't pardon himself because he has no manners. "Pardon" isn't in his vocabulary.
1
You forget. He has ghostwriters.
2
Isn't this the same CLOWN that during his campaign stated he could shoot someone on NYC's Fifth Avenue and get away with it and then, as late as last November, was whining about NEEDING a Special Prosecutor to go after Hillary Clinton (about her emails)? And... "on May 18, the day Mueller was tapped to investigate the Trump campaign, the president complained on Twitter that a special counsel wasn't appointed for Clinton or what Trump called "illegal acts" during President Barack Obama's administration." https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/us/politics/trump-pardon-power-consti...
"With all of the illegal acts that took place in the Clinton campaign & Obama Administration, there was never a special counsel appointed!" Trump tweeted May 18.
Now, he's saying a Special Counsel is unconstitutional and that, in this case, he could pardon himself? To use a line from Hamlet, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark (D.C., NYC or Mar-a-Lago, in this case)."
2
To use another line from Hamlet,
"...'tis a tale told by an idiot."
2
That’s “Macbeth.”
Donald is America's biggest know nothing blowhard. He thinks he was elected emperor. It's not 501 days of American Greatness as the self aggrandizer in chief proclaims, but 501 days of hell for many of us. We have 900 days left assuming Donald hangs onto power for his whole term.
I have a great amount of faith in Bob Mueller. I do not have any expectation that anyone in the GOP will decide to put a stop to Donald's shenanigans. Just look at Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy. Ryan, gleefully shredding the safety net and slashing taxes for the wealthy. McCarthy, the doltish starburst sorter, sending only the pink favorites to the starburst loving Donald.
The midterms are approximately 150 days away. Every one of us who would like to see this nightmare end needs to get out the vote in record numbers. It's up to us to be the change. Register people, get them to the polls, be a poll watcher. And vote as if your life depended on it.
2
"He thinks he was elected emperor. "
And, to paraphrase, "the emperor has no clues."
Since Trump started on this path to the Presidency, there has been a major shift in the discourse of the human species on this planet. We are all spending more time talking to one another are we not? Hopefully more are learning about history and politics. Therefore even though change is hard, it is as I see it, a huge learning curve. Sometimes those who we may despise the most teach us more then we realize.
Hang in there this ride we call life is not over yet.
1
45 wants us to talk more about the economy. Let's do it.
Q1 growth was at 2.3%, not the 3% he promised would overcome shortfalls from the Donor Relief Act (Tax cuts).
Let's talk more about that. A lot more about that . . . or our $21 Trillion and growing deficit.
Great economy. So great. I'm sure his base is really loving the stock market growth. They own stocks, right?
2
We really need to ensure our Commander-In-Chief's have a handle on how the Constitution, and rule of law, concepts work...
2
If he isn’t guilty, and has nothing to hide, why does Trump keep bringing up the “witch hunt” and the fact that he may need to pardon himself? Reeks of wrong-doing to me. I’m guessing this situation is not something the forefathers thought of when they were drawing up the Constitution & amendments. Nothing surprises me anymore with this administration. The fate of our democracy concerns me on a daily basis.
4
Might that be the reason why America is so fidgety about its guns? In case of a tyrant-king?
4
Just like he does with women and his nefarious business deals, Trump is pimping out America. He abuses our values. He abuses the rule of law for his own selfish, corrupt ends.
#AmericaToo
5
This innocent and persecuted man spends a lot of energy cooking up ways to stay out of jail..... "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."
4
It seems to me that if Trump pardoned anyone associated with the Russia investigation prior to them being found guilty, that would be a clear case of Obstruction of Justice. An impeachable act. Should he try to pardon himself that again is Obstruction of Justice and would be an impeachable act.
3
This whole scenario sounds like a Gilbert & Sullivan opera, zany and silly, except that the consequences of letting Trump continue to get away with this kind of nonsense is jeopardizing our institutions of government. If he were guilty he could pardon himself? Please, get serious.
4
the whole point of the revolution and the formation of our country was to separate from the likes of trump
6
No one is above the law. Full stop.
5
With today's anti-democratic tweets, our Fake President conclusively reveals the mindset of an authoritarian that would have no qualms about colluding with a dictatorial foreign power to win an American election. Indeed, Trump has more in common with Putin than with any of the other primary candidates he prevailed against to win the Republican nomination. He is our Manchurian candidate, now ensconced in the Oval Office.
5
So much for checks and balances.
The Founding Fathers are rolling in their graves.
Oh well, one more step toward a dictatorship. Republicans always have to win.
5
Trump is officially in the Divine Right Party now.
3
I revel every day in the ranting, raving, retrograde lunacy that our President has come to embody since running for office and since being inaugurated in January 2017.
Why?
Because it has exposed how hollow and fragile our system of governance has become.
Because it exposes how servile we as a people have become to machinations and manipulation of media - TV, cable, talk radio and most of all social media.
Because it show how we no longer have a president but now have a pseudo-emperor - a state of affairs that has been in place since FDR but no one has so brazenly and shamelessly ripped away the veil of charade that is 'the presidency' as has DJT.
Because Congress has been shown to be feckless, fickle and foolish in their inability to effectively exercising their constitutional duty as an equal branch of the government and a counterweight to the President (similar to when Obama was jamming through ObamaCare).
Yes, it is time for us to really re-think how we want our country to be governed in the coming decades. Because, as matters stand now, we are the equivalent a Rome before the fall and the storming of the gates by the barbarians.
3
You all don’t get it. He says things to get you riled up. It’s not that hard. The left has spent 16 months being hysterical with each day’s news. It’s embarassing.
1
Such a significant pronouncement. So he tweets it. I’m not astounded, astonished, surprised, or chagrinned.
2
REALITY: Trump and his lawyers are obviously right i.e. the process allows him to be impeached then removed then charged after he has no power to pardon himself QED
Trump is preparing to cross the Rubicon and at the tune of "alea jacta est" tear down our republic so he can crown himself Emperor.
1
Republicans in Congress would be well advised to consider these words from the Declaration of Independence: "When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce the people under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security." The Declaration goes on to say: "In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. One, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people." A President who asserts that he has the absolute right to pardon himself, putting himself above the law, is a tyrant, and should be impeached, convicted, and removed from office forthwith!
9
More words from Jefferson: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."
Pray we don't reach that point.
2
I do not believe the assertion to be true. It is a bastion of ethics that one cannot act to benefit themselves when faced with a public duty and a conflict of interest. Were the Republican Party not a modern Crabby Appleton, "rotten to the core!", it would join with Democrats to impeach Trump and to remove him from office immediately. The Conservative movement is a fake if it does not seek to do this. He's gone beyond Nixon, and is now an openly declared threat to law and order and our consensual constitutional republic. No person is above the law. Period. He has to go!
4
This pardon issue is just the beginning.
I am waiting for the day when he abolishes elections and makes himself the POTUS for life, and appoints Ivanka his successor.
The scary thing is that 40% of the electorate will find this to be perfectly ok.
3
Sure he can. The power of pardon is absolute. And applies only for federal crimes. I doubt NY governor will be as willing to pardon.
To paraphrase the late Senator Sam Ervin, the President's claim that he has "absolute right" to pardon himself is absolute poppycock.
6
I prefer Truman's term, "manure". And as Bess told the reporters, "Heavens, it took me 25 years to get him to say 'manure!"
Could this man act any guiltier? Already worrying about how to untangle from his future indictment. The really stupid thing is had he just shut up, let it play out, the resulting flap might have lasted a week. He's the one feeding it. Loving the irony but really, you can only pardon for crimes committed. Is he confessing?
8
President Trump, our Sun God!
3
Why bring up pardoning himself, if President Trump wasn't anticipating the need to do so. Just over the weekend we found out that President Trump had written the memo for his son about the Russian meeting at Trump Tower, a fact that he denied until now. Rudy Giuliani explained that "this was okay because he wasn't under oath."
This is what we can expect from President Trump and is his Modus Operandi. If it isn't explicitly illegal, then I can do it.
Remember this Trump supporters. If the President isn't sworn in under oath, it's okay to lie, because there are no legal ramifications for him. Should the moral bar really be set this low for President of the United States?
5
Trump has never pardoned himself in this lifetime that would take a certain amount of humility.
1
We had better hope that Trump doesn't do this, and pardon himself. If he goes through with this insanity, I don't know how we can stop it, and it will surely usher in an era of presidents who will try to do whatever they want -- and if they can pardon themselves, they will get away with it. Having the president pardon himself is the first step towards the USA becoming a dictatorship, and I don't want Trump as a dictator.
1
He can’t reverse an impeachment though. Our saving grace.
1
As both Giuliani and Trump have asserted, pardoning himself would be tantamount to an admission of guilt.
2
If push came to shove, the Solicitor General, Noel Francisco, should refuse to argue Trump's position in front of the Supreme Court. He should step down, making the statement that Trump's argument is dead wrong.
2
Trump and his lawyers are wrong. No one is above the law not even the president of the United States of America
5
If Trump were correct, then he could stab to death Hillary Clinton i broad daylight (or Jeff Sessions or Angela Markel or. . .) and then pardon himself.
Would that really be o.k. with Trump supporters? Or would you find that the Constitution wouldn't have meant that. If that's the case, then let's admit a President CANNOT pardon himself.
2
Just another normal day in Crazyland. Nothing surprises anymore. Vote Democrat.
9
He and his obstruction machine are blathering on to rile up the base. I can’t wait for this disgrace to be removed and ushered where he belongs; in jail.
3
This latest assertion by Mr Trump further heightens the dangerous territory we have entered as a democracy based on the rule of law. Mr Trump has espoused conspiracy theories prior to and now during his current term of office. One of these is the assertion that the election was rigged--even though he won the election. Presumably he proposed this assertion because he felt he should have won by a larger margin--in the same way that he claimed that there were more people attending his inauguration than Obama's, notwithstanding the photo evidence to the contrary.
So where then is the real danger to our democracy based on this latest event? Assume in the next election that Mr Trump does not win. What then? It can be conjectured that he would claim the election was rigged because he didn't win. He has already prepared for this eventually in his attacks on various state voting processes and various dubious claims of illegal voters as a major problem. If he did posit that the election was rigged, and in his interpretation therefore "illegal", would he not then state that as the incumbent president he was not required to then step down and peacefully hand over the presidency to someone he considered was not the legitimate winner of the presidential race. In fact he could twist the "facts", as we have witnessed on a number of occasions, to actually state that it was his duty to protect the democracy and not relinquish control.
All Americans need to consider this scenario.
3
Dear Bernie's babies and bullies,
Is this what you expected when you said there was no difference between Trump's and Clinton?
Thanks for this.
10
Trump is working for Russia and probably (?) he is unaware he is doing so. The Russians simply fed his inflated ego, his hatred of Obama and gave him lucrative contracts. Trump must count as the most successful, and quickest grooming of a potential traitor in the KGBs long history. Potentially Trump maybe the catalyst of the break-up of the Western Alliance. Canada already seems to think so...
G
5
Bigoted, populist demagogue finagles his way into high office, then sets about dismantling democratic institutions and norms until he winds up an absolute dictator.
Where have we seen this movie before?
6
A comment by a old Canuck: up here, we have a procedure by which the government can ask directly the Supreme Court to rule on a constitutional matter. In my humble opinion, it would be helpful to have the courts interpret the power of your president to pardon criminals. As for the notion that he his above the law is just plain funny. Boy, are you guys funny.
2
If he's done "nothing wrong" what's he so worried about?
1
If Jay Sekulow is what passes for a 'legal scholar' today then I just became a supermodel.
8
Dictatorship. Pure and simple. Can we start talking about what the duty of every American citizen is in the face of a dictatorship and the unconstitutional usurpation of power? Let's stop kidding ourselves that Trump is just an aberration that we can get over. Trump is a threat to the very existence of this country and its Constitution. Time to act. No excuses.
8
Notice that he said ‘right’ and not ‘power’. According to the Constitution, citizens have certain ‘rights’, in other words they can insist on being treated in a defined way; public officials have certain ‘powers’, in other words they are empowered to treat others in a defined way. I don’t believe that anywhere it is said that a president has a right to pardon himself.
Why would someone who has “done nothing wrong” need to be pardoned?
3
It hardly matters if one is a conservative Republican like Barry Goldwater, a moderate like Nelson Rockefeller, or an ultra-liberal from that same era: none of them could imagine someone so obviously mentally deformed that he would imagine that he is immune from legal/moral responsibility, the more so as an elected official, and even more so as president. I can imagine the mind of a delusional egomaniac who thinks he will do public good, make everyone thin, rich, and happy, and having the nerve to advertise that his magic wand will be transformative and set the world aright over night. I cannot imagine a mind so misshapen in its perception of reality that it thinks it can do any manner of evil acts that it wants and have no consequences. And it doesn't matter if your an American Firster, fed up with government, feel left out of the economy, want less regulation, or simply like the bombastic: this guy is totally undermining democracy and everything America and the most conservative among us stand for.
3
Trump Says Appointment of Special Counsel Is ‘Totally Unconstitutional’ https://nyti.ms/2LWiuPd
...would somebody explain to the President of the United States of America that no human being is above the law (that is why there are laws) and not being able to pardon himself is the only thing that makes his position different from leaders of his so called "s...hole countries "....PLEASE
1
A re-reading of the Declaration of the Indpendence might provide some perspective.
2
Is there a criminal in the world who would not want to "Pardon himself?" Oh the obscenity of this for those of us who want a democracy ruled by laws and oh the glory of this for Donald Trump's supporters and the GOP who see this as evidence of his absolute power. Unless this is checked, we are going to be living in an authoritarian state.
6
There is something terribly wrong with the media reporting on these statements by Trump as if they were worthy of discussion.
The ONLY headline should be: "Trump embraces fascism and claims the President is above any law". And the ONLY questions should be to Republican Congressmen and they should only be "Do you still believe in the Constitution or should the President be allowed to commit any crime - including murder - and pardon himself?" And every headline after that should be "Republicans say Trump can murder innocent children if he wants and pardon himself and they are good with it."
We have to start calling fascism out for what it is instead of these kind of ridiculous articles in which we take seriously the absurd notion of that Trump can murder someone and pardon himself. The media has lost its way -- the first sign that fascism is near at hand.
13
I'm in liberal Massachusetts. I have a neighbor who is a brainwashed Republican. He and I were good neighbors, almost friends, until something happened during the Obama election. I mentioned the black people on line for eight to ten hours in Florida, waiting to vote, due to fewer voting machines and polling places than in white neighborhoods. He had not seen the videos because they didn't show them on Fox. When he asked who was responsible for that, I told him and told him also that the man was a Republican clearly trying to suppress the black vote for Obama in Florida. Suddenly he ordered me off his property under the threat of calling the police and having me arrested for trespassing. We have not spoken since. This level of willful ignorance is going to be the eventual end of America. Trump is only accelerating it.
16
Forget about what could have been. Trump is an embarrassment.
4
Confused....Why does President Illegitimate keep saying he can pardon himself when he has always said he's not a colluding criminal?
4
Trumps open and persistent hostility to the rule of law will be done in by "the Emperor's New Clothes" principle.
2
I would like to hear a constitutional lawyer's response to Giuliani's assertion that Trump could shoot James Comey and not be indicted. Common sense tells me that a President is not above the law and particularly criminal law. I hope my common sense turns out to be right.
5
Trumps adolescent understanding of the law now believes he has some magic dust to banish his foes!
Trump fancies himself an absolute monarch and has been trying, since day 1 of his presidency, to reign as one. He ignores the fact that he was only elected by the swing of few tens of thousands of votes in four states, out of tens of millions of votes cast across 50 states.
It is now up to all voters concerned by Trump's usurpation of the constitution and the rule of law to turn out this November to provide a sorely needed balancing check on Trump's assertions of power. If American voters fail this test come November, it will not end well.
Will the voters tell the wanna-be emperor he has no clothes? Are we as a country up to the challenge, or will you sit out the election and let Trump and his GOP congressional enablers destroy the fabric of this country?
5
So, President Trump believes that the appointment of Special Counsel Mueller is unconstitutional and that he has the power to pardon himself.
Trump thinks he’s above the law and capable of pardoning himself from wrongdoing. This is the exact opposite of how a democracy is supposed to run.
The president is not above the law. Nobody is above the law. That’s why we fought a Revolutionary War against the British.
I would only hope that all Americans - Republicans, Democrats and others - won’t support this type of behavior.
Over 240 years ago, we fought to establish a new nation where our leaders would be held accountable for their actions and no one was above the law.
The Founding Fathers crafted the Constitution to ensure government was always held accountable to the people and the law, and that our president couldn’t rule with their own interests at heart. After all, that was called a monarchy.
As Abraham Lincoln said about the founding of our country in the first sentence of the Gettysburg Address ". . . a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
We have a government of the people, by the people, for the people.
Trump is saying he will undo the rule of law to save himself from the special investigation. What does he have to hide? Is he guilty?
Trump is not a king, and he can’t be allowed to govern like he’s above the law. We believe in the Constitution, the rule of law and checks and balances.
5
You don't need to be pardoned if you are innocent. I will take this as an admission of guilt.
6
Trump says he could murder Mueller and anyone else he chooses and then issue a blanket pardon to himself and anyone else involved. He asserts that the Republican controlled Congress wouldn’t impeach him, not even for murder. In the modern era there have only been four other developed countries where their leader at the time has asserted such absolute power, Germany, Italy, Russia and China. Until Trump, only Russia’s leader continued to do so. Amazing that the USA has joined the ranks of countries whose leaders assert absolute power and no accountability.
5
He also argued that adultery isn't a sin. But don't worry, he never cheated on Melania or paid women to keep quiet about it.
1
That's great news for the elected dictators of the world. They will pardon themselves. And, what the heck, for all males who did something, or anything, or nothing. They will do the same. What a lovely idea.
3
Whatever else Trump may have done, this tweet alone shows that he recognizes no constraints on his power. He is unfit to be president, and should be removed at once. Congress?
7
When did we become a Banana Republic?
2
I think it was back in January 2017. On the day of America's "biggest inauguration crowd" ever. The very next day "fake news" became part of White House Policy and it's been downhill since then.
1
Are we now, officially a banana republic?
3
There's a lot of things Trump is doing right now that are unconstitutional, but he doesn't think there's anything wrong with that.
Trump is just playing to his deplorables.
2
Checks and balances, Donald. You don't behave, and you're outta here.
2
Trump is a traitor. June 14th is Trump’s birthday which is why I’m sending him a nice little card letting him know exactly what I think of him. Won’t you join me?
He doesn’t read.
1
Who cares what Trump says or tweets about any of these subjects? He has no idea what he's talking about.
6
Because his base believes it, too.
The People, and their presently feckless representatives, will Impeach you!
3
Trump is something else.
It goes from the unthinkable to can he or can't he.
2
I guess this is an example of hitting back 'ten times as hard'. Overstated of course, and a persona developed over the years to intimidate. Nice try.
One word to The Pardoner, NIXON.
As he hands out privileges, spare a thought to the guy of old on horseback flogging for a price. A desperate way to make a living. Pardons are corrupt as Chaucer's tale unmasked. The Pardoner had similar delusions of his righteousness. Some people never learn that their sins cannot be exchanged and wiped away by a declaration. A piece of paper carrying corruptions.
So what, Trump made a declaration. President Tweet can handle terse and uncivil in brief format. Set him a paper, or insist he writes one and he does not come up trumps.
Illiterate, incoherent and illegible. An entity denuded of all clothes and one the lawyers are scared to death to put before Mueller. His tweet was hype and a sign of weakness.
2
Good morning America, stand up and fight for democracy in your country before it is too late...hit the streets NOW, show this conman you will not lie down while he destroys your country, the future is in your hands if you want it.
2
The idea that the President of the United States can not obstruct justice comes from the British Common Law which states that "The King (or Queen) can do no wrong." I would have thought that even Donald Trump would know that one of the reasons for the American Revolution was the belief of King George III that he could do no wrong. Mr. Trump, and his lawyers, should know that American presidents are not kings, except, perhaps, in their own minds.
3
As a Trump supporter—I will join the protests demanding his impeachment if he pardons himself.
1
Hasn’t anything else he’s done made you regret your vote?
2
the weird thing is that when Trump engages in this authoritarianism, he proves the need for the independent counsel all the more.
1
Please,
May I be the 14th Angry and Conflicted Democrat?
Is this truly freaky, and worrisome stuff really going on in the U.S.A? A Malignant-Narcissist dictator wannabe? Sundry members of the other two co-equal branches of government supporting him. What happened to," checks and balances" on government , designed by the Founding Fathers, to avoid dictators? Can anybody believe the Constitutional bilge that Trump's lawyers are spouting in order to stay on the White House feeding trough? So, according to Giuliani, Trump is above the law? That's not America's founding principle! Are you going to let a bunch of grifters steal your freedom? Turn Americans against each other? Destroy U.S. prestige world-wide? Convert the country into the biggest Banana Republic ever? Read about Weimar Germany, pre-WWII, and ask yourselves, Quo Vadis America? When all dissidents are uniformed and crowding Gulags somewhere in North Dakota, Arizona, etc. waiting for their USDA Harvest Boxes, it will be too late. November is just around the corner, vote them out. MAGA??
11
So...
then the President can kill all Democrats (RINO's too), and pardon himself for it. Congressional Republicans will love it! So will Mike Pence.
4
After careful consideration I conclude that this attitude of absolute power absolves all wrongdoing is wholly supported by the Republican Party in its entirety, leadership, rank and file. This tweet goes a long way toward proving that as long as the Republican Party control any branch of government we risk loosing our Constitutional freedoms guaranteed within it. Lord Acton was right.
1
Conservatives love authoritarian leaders. All-powerful father figures, kings, dictators. They like certainty at all costs. Ambiguity terrifies them. It’s how they’re wired. They like things in black and white, no gray, no fuzzy mixtures of things. On/off, yes/no, up/down, good/evil. It’s a boring, binary world they inhabit. They think trump is going to give them the certainty they crave, but there is no certainty in this world. They’re grasping desperately at illusions ... instead of thinking for themselves, they’ve abdicated their personal authority to a criminal con artist. It’s so similar to the dynamic between televangelists and the audiences they scam out of their hard-earned cash. People love to be fooled, and this president is a master at fooling fools.
I’ve watched most of my hapless relatives fall under his spell. They’re like zombies. It’s a horrifying sight.
President Trump, in his mind, has unlimited powers and authority. Perhaps a full and honest test of the constitutional limits of chief executive authority will serve a purpose. Meanwhile, let's appreciate the literal self-condemning essence of the moment. Shall we remind the President that only persons proven guilty of a crime are eligible for a pardon?
1
What legal scholars told Trump he had this constitutional authority to pardon himself? Or is this just another in his endless series of cons?
3
I'm a law professor who generally supports constitutionally conservative and libertarian positions. That is why the notion of an "absolute" presidential power seems off-base to me. Justice Scalia was a strong structuralist on separation of powers, but he knew better than to describe anything in the check-and-balance aspect of our Constitution as absolute, which is the point of separation of powers, after all.
That said, I tend to agree that Mueller is on thin ice in various respects, and that the general gist of the latest presidential legal defense of executive authority seems roughly sound.
But not in the particular respect of absolute executive power, a concept pilloried, appropriately, by the Times. The Constitution by its design undermines such a concept.
3
You do not know what Mueller thinks!
1
"I can pardon myself based on the advice of legal experts". From the President who has been finding it difficult to find and retain legal representation
4
Experts like Giuliani? With experts like that ...
By Trump's logic (or rather illogic), our current president and any future president can rape, murder and commit acts of treason (e.g. sell nuclear codes and sell advanced weapons and space program designs to Russia, China etc.) and get away with it simply through presidential self-pardon.
Are we still a legitimate country? It seems like the current POTUS does not have any use for a constitutional democracy.
12
I don't have any problem with Trump pardoning himself as long as he pardons Benedict Arnold first.
2
Shhh ... don’t give him any ideas! Of course, he probably thinks Benedict Arnold is an item on the brunch menu.
1
He’d do it in a heart-beat and sell his mother to the devil during the process.
Trump should just come out and say it: he thinks president is the same as king.
2
This sad excuse for a President is going to test the spine of democracy and see if it is as soft as Jello like the GOP Congress is. He will push the envelope, he will defy everyone and then say...now what, I'm still standing, I'm still President, your court orders mean nothing, your impeachment means nothing, I am the law and you lost. I will do as I please, when I please, and how I please. This is MY America, not yours. That's the twisted mind of this deranged and unfit man.
4
I just wonder if Trump could be impeached for anything. Shocking to say, but I don't think there's the political will for it. Remember Jerry Ford's reasoning for pardoning Nixon? Just didn't want to put the country through the process. I can't see why the same thinking wouldn't prevail here. Don't get your hope up for this, folks. And for darned sure, don't think Trump won't put the country through this test.
My concern is that in order to win at the polls the GOP leaders will allow Mr. Trump to rule by mandate as occurred in Europe and led to WW II.
2
Trump has no power except for that which the people permit him to have. He will learn this the hard way, as all dictators do.
7
For someone who supposedly hasn't done anything illegal, Trump sure is making lots of noise. If he truly believes Mueller hasn't a thing on him, why not just chill out and let the so-called "witch hunt" fizzle? Why spout this I'm-above-the-law nonsense?
10
Dear leader Mr. Trump,
I am a big supporter of continuity and opposer of uncertainty of the democracy. Till recently most of our presidents were beholden the stupid constitution. I think are the first president and thinks out of the box ( maybe Nixon was a trailblazer). We need one strong leader like and I hope you will work with your party to make you the president for life and after you, Ivanka can become the president then Baron can be the president. Please dismantle DOJ as it hinders your activities.
1
The 20-page legal fantasy and Trump's tweets supporting it say everything about the team he finds himself lawyered up with. He's basically pro se at this point, with a set of show ponies to parade as his hand-picked (i.e. they didn't say no) counselors. They bring spelling, vocabulary and grammar, if not gravitas, to the spectacle.
With neither law nor facts in their favor, Team Trump is left with the "pound the table" strategic option.
12
If William O. Douglas were still on the SC, he would find a way to "reach down" and get this issue before the SC, and the SC would let Trump know that he was not elected Tyrant King.
Where have all the Patriots with Courage gone?
Ryan and McConnell are hiding in the tall grass, while Trump tramples the Constitution.
12
There is no crime more infamous than the violation of truth. It is apparent that men can be social beings no longer than they believe each other. When speech is employed only as the vehicle of falsehood, every man must disunite himself from others, inhabit his own cave and seek prey only for himself. - Dr. Samuel Johnson
It's time to find a cave, DJT; in fact, it's way overdue.
4
When the president pushes through a crowd, only thing he needs to say is “Pardon me.”
2
Can we please get to the part where absolutely everything blows up Trump-wise and he can lie and sway and duck and scream and shout no longer? Where the Trump name goes down in history like the name Nixon only a billion times more corrupt, empty and mean-spirited? Where forevermore he is known as one thing - a corrupt criminal out for himself and never, not once, looking out for our country, our sweet democracy.
14
The last few weeks of policy soundbites coming out of both Trump and Giulini have Stephen Miller's grimy Fascist fingerprints all over them.
Miller is working behind the scenes to disassemble American democracy. The longer we allow Trump et al to spout his demagoguery in the court of public opinion, vs. challenging it in a court of law, the more work we'll have putting the pieces back together. Hopefully it will be possible.
11
"President Trump said he had the power to pardon himself. It's a sign that he could take extreme action to shield himself in the Russia inquiry. " NY Times headline, 4JUN18. Why the use of the past tense? Or is it the subjunctive? Couldn't the headline have read "says"?
3
Where's our Cromwell, where is our Robespierre ? The Virginia state motto " Sic Semper Tyrannis" was never more apt. My God, the United States of America is now as close to disunion as when the war between the states broke out. I see the Stars and Bars being flown everywhere while men of color and integrity are being told to they should leave the country as they take a knee for justice. Trump the 1st, the Make America the Great Division dictator will have his way as his cowering enablers contribute to the downfall of our nation. Christians,Jews,Muslims and everyone else that supports this fraud just remember that you support a liar, a cheat, a fraud, a serial adulterer and a traitor that pleaded with Russia to dig dirt on his opponent. Regards, JO'
12
Please don't mention Cromwell. The population of Ireland is said to have declined by 300,000 after Cromwell decided to instill some English order in the Irish. Some call that genocide. Some consider him a war criminal. As for me, I have nothing to say I'd care to repeat here in these polite surroundings.
Whatever we need, it is not a Puritan revolution, even if Trump is a disgraced libertine.
1
Trump would be wise to STOP tweeting. The tweets make him look like a silly fool or a stark raving maniac. They are not to his advantage.
4
I blame Ambien.
3
When Ambien only shuts down one of the two parts of the brain that make you sleep, you can do stuff while you are technically asleep that you can't consciously control.
That lack of conscious control means you wind up doing things that are already habitual for you, like driving or eating. If you make racist tweets or engage in arguments only heard from autocrats, it means those are already things you know how to do and things you enjoy doing.
Donald Trump or George III?
[A] history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
..
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
6
If the President had the powers Trump says, then why have a legislative or judicial branch? Trump and his supporters keep trying to out do Hitlers destruction of German democracy. Keep chipping away, divide the public, make chosen people and outcasts, blame everybody else for mistakes. IT CAN HAPPEN HERE
11
Th Republic is dead, long live the King
'... a public-relations campaign to discredit the investigation...' = More Obstruction of Justice. Manafort, an admitted Russian stooge, was Trump's Campaign Manager. Flynn is an admitted Russian lobbyist and Trump retains him as National Security Advisor for weeks while knowing that. Does it get any more obvious?
4
I must have gone to different schools that Mr. Trump and his lawyers. In my schools they taught this idea of separation of powers as an antidote to corruption derived from excessive power. The right to pardon one's self seems very much like one acting as a judge of one's own case. It is the ability to excuse one from legal culpability. How does this fit within a framework of the rule of law?
In point of fact, it seems very much like the absolute power of monarchy that drove the very formation of our republic.
Now I'm pondering which sounds better, King Donald the First, or just plain Emperor Trump. Gotta pick one; were not in constitution land anymore.
3
He is in clear violation of his oath of office to uphold the constitution. This assertion of his is, in itself, grounds for impeachment.
With his reasoning, he could use the the police force, the DOJ, the CIA and any other executive government agency to threaten every judge, every district attorney, in fact anyone he wants, with complete impunity.
He could, therefore, gut every government agency, blackmail congress, governors, into falling in line with his desires. If the president or any other citizen is above the law, above inquiry into his actions, beyond any legal redress for his action, we have nothing here but a dictatorship.
8
Nope, no greatness here. Beat him at the ballot box and lock him up. He destabilized the world and made survival more tenuous for all of us. And accomplished, what, more meanness, injustice, cruelty, thievery, lying, nepotism, all for personal gain. No, lock him up, go after his enablers in Congress and go for the rest of the citizens that believe our constitution does not apply to them.
4
Pardon me. Trump's 500 days of Greatness?
More like 155 days and counting! - until true greatness is achieved when We The People change the makeup of the House and Senate in the Midterm Elections!
VOTE!
7
How much longer will we have to tolerate this Trump administration nightmare? Remove this cancer without further delay....make sure to root it all out, that includes Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan and all the other cheap hack obstructionists currently on our payroll....clear them out so we can rebuild again.
8
By accepting a pardon one acknowledges the guilt. One cannot be innocent yet accept a pardon.
8
These are like the threats of a four year old to run away. Even if he tries it, he just winds up being dragged back from the corner bus stop. I suspect the seasoned and professional R. Mueller is treating this as such. It would be nice, though, if we could trust Congress to do the dragging.
4
This should surprise no-one and alarm everyone, or, at least conscionable Americans who believe in the rule of law.
6
This is what his supporters wanted all along. They must have known what they were getting - a dictator. They're wired for it, although it may not be a genetic predisposition.
1
"I am judge, jury, and guilty, and I can pardon myself."
Pardon me Mr. President, should I teach my kids the same lesson?
2
It just goes to show that there are two systems of law in this country.
The wealthy get to say what is law. The poor get told what is the law.
4
Acting Attorney General Mary Lawton had this to say on August 5th, 1974:
Under the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case, the President cannot pardon himself.
If under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment the President declared that he was temporarily unable to perform the duties of the office, the Vice President would become Acting President and as such could pardon the President. Thereafter the President could either resign or resume the duties of his office.
Although as a general matter Congress cannot enact amnesty or pardoning legislation, because to do so would interfere with the pardoning power vested expressly in the President by the Constitution, it could be argued that a congressional pardon granted to the President would not interfere with the
President’s pardoning power because that power does not extend to the President himself.
https://www.justice.gov/file/20856/download
Trump gives new meaning to the phrase "pardon me", as in "I pardon me" which is grammatically correct but awkward. So I advise him to say "The President pardons Donald J. Trump." before resigning.
Incompetence, pure and simple, top to bottom with this crew.
Mendacity at the top.
Double time, Mr. Mueller.
1
I wish Trump would stop shooting off his mouth for his "base" and "do it" so we could get the issue before SCOTUS and be done with this once and for all.
Of course, if the High Court ruled against the President, then Trump would go after the Court as a part of his conspiracy theories and he'd add them to his “greatest hits” list for months to come.
And if, perchance, the Court upholds the President's viewpoint, then it will be left to what's left of the American public with any intelligence to rise up and find those additional 90k votes in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in 2020 that tipped the election to this imbecile.
Whether we've agreed or disagreed philosophically with a President or his programs in the past, the present occupant is the closest thing to an autocrat in American history.
I look forward to the day most Americans can pull out their bottle of "White Out;" go to their local libraries; and wipe-out any mention or trace of this man's foolishness. The living may have to remember his embarrassing behavior but, hopefully, future generations will view him as an "asterisk;" a citation buried on the bottom page of a history book.
3
I dream of this national nightmare being referred to th the history books as "The Great Aberration .
I wonder if by "numerous legal scholars" he means
Rudolph W. Giuliani, who keeps on making a fool of
himself every time he appears on the news.
Yeah, he is quite the legal mind. Who are they kidding?
4
"You keep on using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
Mr.Trump, "to pardon" is not to erase one's guilt, it is to provide forgiveness for an error or offense. Therefore it does not erase the fact that one has committed an offense; rather it verifies that the transgression has occurred. Please consider reading the history of Ford's pardon of Nixon, and the requirement that Nixon acknowledge his guilt as a prerequisite.
As for pardoning yourself, can a thief pardon himself for stealing? Can a murderer pardon himself for the life he has stolen? Forgiveness can only come from those who have been wronged, or from the society whose laws have been broken. Just so, you can not pardon yourself for the havoc you have wreaked on us as citizens, or on the institutions of law and order on which we all rely. Such forgiveness, if it is ever to come, must come from the people. To assert otherwise is not the prerogative of the presidency, or even a king, but the ravings of a despot.
6
Having to admit your guilt in order to be pardoned would matter only to an individual with integrity. Trump doesn’t care that we know he's guilty (he already knows many of us do and shows no signs of contrition or embarrassment.) All he cares about is being at the top of the list of the "filthy rich" with lots of power to squander and women to fondle.
All he needs is a pipe-organ, a black cape, and an evil laugh: we've seen the character he aspires to be in many movies.
For all of those who bought into the screeching from Trump and the noise makers on Fox "News" and talk radio that Obama was an "imperial" president due to his use of executive orders, you were duped. I now introduce you to a real imperial president, Donald Trump, who now believes that because he is currently the president, albeit not very presidential, he is really and bigly above the law.
Now, as far as the witch hunt, the no guilt here claim, Trump reminds me of the person being chased down by the police. When caught the person is asked "why were you running?". Well the person says "I'm not guilty, I'm innocent"-as the shoplifted goods are clearly seen under the person's jacket.
Yes, Donald, those goods are clearly seen under your very long tie and oversize suit coat (not only to hide the goods, but fool more people about his weight).
But, we are winning...
2
The "home of the free and the brave" will be undeniably honored and tyrants should think twice. King George comes to mind! Does King Donald Trump really think he is above the law? This country abounds with patriots who will rise to the task. This is the USA, and if there is one thing that unites us it's blatant tyranny & the likely oppression of a wanna be dictator!
3
Trump also thinks he can walk on water.
We have nobody to blame but ourselves.
2
No......rather, we have the Electoral College, who should be charged with dereliction of duty.
This is the beginning of the end of the Great Democratic Experiment of the USA.
2
His contention that the special counsel is unconstitutional is almost as bizarre as his claim of immunity.
3
If Trump can pardon himself then what does he have to lose by submitting to questioning by Moeller's team.
4
Any objective person would take the meaning of the constitutional prohibition against pardons for impeachment to carry over to pardons for self. Unfortunately Americans play politics, not like an expression of justice and morality, but like it’s some kind of game with a flawed rule book, where you can find loopholes and still expect to be an honorable player. Not in my book, hypocrites.
3
You forgot the word "falsely" before asserts.
1
The only people who need pardons are those who have done something legally, ethically, or morally wrong. The obverse of that coin is that anyone who has done nothing wrong has no need for a pardon. Everything else about presidential pardons from the mouth of this president is blustering gibberish even he doesn't believe -- but wishes were true.
1
So even GOP Senator Grassley states, “if I were president of the United States and I had a lawyer (Giuliani) that told me I could pardon myself, I think I would hire a new lawyer.”
Sorry Grassley, Giuliani is just what Trump wants. And the Dems want to hear more from Giuliani too!
He's the gift that keeps on giving.
6
The American people deserve to know the extent of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, and whether any US citizens have aided or abetted the Russians in so doing. If Mr. Trump is innocent of any collaboration with Russia, his reluctance to take the opportunity to clear his name by agreeing to be interviewed by the Mueller team is truly astonishing. All this talk about shutting down the investigation and pardoning himself suggests to many of us that he may have something to hide. Don't Mr. Trump, his lawyers, and Trump loyalists know this??
5
Well a "L'etat C'est Moi" atitude does have a certain cache, n'est pas? Yet all those other things we associate with some blue bloods; the noblesse oblige, refined manners, a certain decorum...have been jettisoned, which makes me think of yet other royals, like Richard the Third Act 1 Scene 1 line 20.
1
I think President Trumps tweet pretty much sums it up. He is not above the Law, he is the Law and that is not democratic or American, that is Trump.
This administration and president are the most corrupt and self-serving that this nation has witnessed. History will not judge us on our acts and words. A really disturbing time for our nation and the world. This whole farce saddens me. And what the heck is America's Mayor doing? A true Plutocracy.
9
The vicious megalomaniacal "loudmouth at the end of the bar" lout who has infested the white house must be removed from the his stolen perch before he completes his intended putsch of our democracy. If this is where our country ends up, in the hands of greedy, narcissistic dictator, thanks to the "patriots" of the Trumpublican party in congress, we would have been better off staying under the rule of King George III.
Thomas Friedman is absolutely 150% correct. It is all hands on deck, code red. THIS IS NOT A DRILL!
5
I don't know who writes Trump's tweets, as some are reasonably articulate while others read like he wrote them himself.
This one--I have done nothing wrong but am competely above the law anyway--appears to have been written by the president himself.
5
"I have done nothing wrong but am completely above the law anyway"
Can't argue with the second half of that statement.
Trump's best bet for a pardon would be from Mike Pence. Should be easy for him to get.
2
Bit late for this comment
Michael D. Shear writes "In his tweet, Mr. Trump again called the investigation a “never ending Witch Hunt” and said it is being led by “13 very Angry and Conflicted Democrats.”
The Times MUST challenge this lie that it is Democrats leading this investigation.
7
I don't want an omnipotent President and I don't think our founding fathers did either.
13
Doesn't the Constitution explicitly say that the president cannot give a pardon for an impeachable offence? And since the definition of 'impeachable offence' is a bit vague, it does seem that Gerald Ford was correct when he said an impeachable offense is whatever Congress says it is. Any sane Congress would surely agree that an offense severe enough to justify a pardon would be impeachable. Which would suggest a president's power to pardon himself is extremely limited. And can you even pardon someone who hasn't been convicted of a crime? Wouldn't such a pardon essentially be confession of said crime?
3
Absolute right??? More like absolute nonsense!
3
What reasonable person would ever put up with, believe in, or support, a person who continually lies everyday? Would you put up with a family member, or co-worker who lies to you everyday? "13 very angry Democrats" is clearly not true and a divisive and tyrannical lie! Congress needs to step up!
6
All Americans, 'liberal', 'progressive', 'middle of the road', 'conservative', need to stop dissing each other and realize we all have a problem here. This Trump character is claiming to be immune to the laws of this country. Should he be successful in getting away with it, our democracy will have taken a life threatening hit.
11
I was going to say that you folks could rely on the Supreme Court to stop Trump, but now I'm not so sure.
6
Almost akin to Maduro, another third rate banana republic despot, stacking the courts of his country with his bootlickers, ignoring a duly elected legislative body and creating his own body out of those who the definition of cronies was founded on.
Time will tell what our supreme court will do. We already know the elected members of Trump's Own Party will do nothing.
1
What an abomination of a man and a destruction of the presidency and the republic. All good things must come to an end! I guess this is what I would write as an epitaph:
‘Here lies the United States of America 1776-2017. She survived a civil war, two world wars a Great Depression and many other calamities. But in the end, she succumbed to a racist demagogue, who destroyed all norms and institutions.’
8
It is not surprising that Trump is absolutely wrong about his absolute right to be our king.
12
If Trump pardons himself he has admitted he is guilty of a crime. We will all want to know the crime and the Mueller discoveries will leak out to the public. They will anyway.
6
If you have nothing to hide from, why run so fast?
7
The Republican Party spent the eight years Obama was president with their hair on fire, acting as if every posture, word, and suggestion that came from his mouth was so unacceptable that they could let nothing stand. Fast forward to the 2016 campaign, presidential election, and the the Trump presidency. There is no lie so big, no action so objectionable by Trump that has been able to move them to stand up for the rule of law and our democratic principles.
14
Mr. Trump should quit running his mouth about self-pardoning, and "just do it" and let's see what happens.
One way or another the man is setting himself up as a dictator, and we are letting him get away with it.
So, Mr. Trump, please, go ahead and pardon yourself, or shut up about it.
(I know, I know, he likely does not know which crime to start with first...)
MB
9
The Carnival Barker in chief doesn't know of the word Constitution, or it's true meaning, but somehow he knows what is unconstitutional.
3
The President has tremendous executive power. He controls the levers of government, currently all 3 branches.
In order to maintain power, he can probably also suspend up-coming elections. All he has to do is declare a national emergency, start a war, declare a financial crisis, etc. in order to postpone elections in 2018and/or in 2020.
I would daresay, that an election, if compromised by a foreign power, could be declared illegitimate and the results overturned, with the Administration then selecting the temporary replacement. (If only that idea had been applied to save Judge Moore.)
To fill the house and Senate for those retiring, how helpful it will be to 'appoint' replacements, rather than putting up with the pesky, expensive elections.
2
We’ve held elections during World Wars. So nothing will, can, or ever should halt our election process.
2
And where is the Senate and the House on this? They are becoming so much like the Roman Senate under Caligula that I expect any moment to see a horse join them in the Chamber.
5
Trump should STOP tweeting. He makes himself look so guilty each time he does it. The tweets reek of paranoia and insanity.
7
It is clear that Trump and his legal team are asserting all of these novel legal theories in an attempt to intimidate Robert Mueller from doing his job.
There is also no doubt that Trump has both acted and talked as someone who is completely guilty of all the allegations of wrongdoing that has been reported against him. I truly hope that Mr. Mueller will not only support Impeachment but also file state charges as appropriate.
We as citizens have the absolute right to insist that no one, including this President, is above our laws.
5
Trump and his lawyers should beware. Claiming monarchical rights may not end well.
The last king of England to invoke the Divine Right of Kings was Charles I. He was beheaded for treason in 1649....SAD.
14
Guilt ridden and full of self-loathing I think Donald has probably been trying to pardon himself ever since he was a little boy.
6
In essence Trump is saying "I am a crook and you can't do anything about it".
7
"She wrote that such a pardon would appear to violate “the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case.”"
Otherwise, all criminals could just pardon themselves
and make a mockery of the legal system.
5
The concept "divine right of Trump" manages to combine history, terror, criminality, presumption, a bullying threat, suspense and slapstick humor. All personified in one beefy, silly, yet dangerous fellow.
5
The Creamsicle Clown, at it again. There is no limit to his depraved and irrational mind.
7
Why not Divine Right? Why would that not be any less absurd than the last 18 months?
If we let politicians get away with criminal activity, our Government will become more and more corrupt - People of all political persuasions should be very concerned about this.
Trump and other officials in his administration have broken the law, and they need to be held accountable. Any politician, Republican or Democrat, needs to be held accountable if they break the law.
5
As a question of constitutional law I think Trump is actually right. He has unlimited pardon power and so he can pardon himself. It's just that the Founders didn't contemplate someone doing that because it would mean they are openly admitting that they are a criminal, which is what Trump is doing. He's admitting he is a bald-faced liar, criminal, and in the most normal sense of the concept, a person who has obstructed justice at every turn. So this is why impeachment or resignation are the only two alternatives available and should be talked openly at all times from now until either takes place. I prefer resignation as impeachment is sort of political chemotherapy - a cure so scarring it leaves the body politic weak and ravaged, even if cured of the most malignant cancer.
No, RS, the President absolutely does NOT have unlimited pardon power. The Constitution explicitly states that the President cannot issue pardons in an attempt to nullify an impeachment. It therefore could be persuasively argued that the President cannot issue pardons for himself.
I can make no logical sense of this. If the President of the United States can pardon himself from any crime, we have a dictatorship or a monarchy. We DON'T have a representative democracy.
Follow this line of thought to a possible end; Donald steals a car, purchases an illegal AK-47, and shoots up half the Congress--(well, maybe just the elected Democrats in the Senate, let's say).
If he can pardon himself from even one crime of obstruction, could he not, by logical extension, pardon himself from all other crimes? Grand Theft Auto? Illegal possession of a firearm? Murder?
Ridiculous, and tragic, that we have come to this point.
3
Special Council has had this ridiculous memo since January. Maybe it has something to do with Cohen being prosecuted in SDNY, and who knows what other machinations Mueller has set in motion to head off more obstruction by Trump. It is certain that they weren't scared off by the Trump team's assertions. I hope they have had many good laughs about it.
1
While Mr.Trump and his lawyers are busily inventing law and pontificating on its possibilities they are simply making noise and muddying the water.If Mr.Trump is so certain that the Special Counsel is unconstitutional he should put the matter before the Supreme Court and let them decide.
1
I can't make up my mind whether Trump wants to be America's first right wing dictator, and everything he does and says is consistent with that; or if he just figure out what the most outrageous thing he could do or say is and acts on that. But neither is good for the country, and he will do a lot of damage to our country and our standing in the world before he's done.
4
He did NOT say he was going to pardon himself. He did not even say he was considering it. He said he has that power, and he may have-with the only remedy impeachment-a political remedy.
Even the NYT states that legal opinions are divided amongst legal experts. The issue is open-not decided.The President's power to pardon appears to be unlimited by any language in the Constitution. It may be a political issue that the Court will refuse to decide precisely because it is political.Moreover I hope no one soberly thinks that he would pardon himself unless he had to-obviously if he were to do it, he surely would have waited until he was convicted of something-so this is idle speculation. Hardly matters-it is all a inane debate, at times hysterical. If he were to do it, he probably should resign and have Pence pardon him.
So much smoke, defensiveness, mingled with lies--why would that be?
1
If he pardons himself from the charge of obstructing Justice, then he would be admitting that he was guilty of obstructing Justice.
Doesn’t that implicit admission of guilt support impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors?
5
Liberals and moderates need to wake up fast, realize that sometimes the only alternative to accepting and surrendering to evil is to resort to force. The Founding Fathers understood this. Franklin famously said to a woman who asked him what kind of government the new nation had "a republic madam, if you can keep it". Jefferson understood what might be necessary to ensure that when he wrote about "the right of the people to rebel against tyrants, whose blood is the natural manure of the tree of liberty". If Trump pardons himself, and the political system fails to prevent him from doing so, it has failed us, the people, which means it be comes up to us to decide whether to resist tyranny, by force, even lethal force if necessary, or submit to it, and by doing nothing allow evil to triumph.
1
The President is psychopathic and we all know it and so do his aids and Congress. By way of the 25th amendment Congress should put Trump in a psychiatric hospital for treatment and put the Vice President in charge.
Maybe that way they would have time to spend with their constituents and listen to their needs. By constantly being distracted they have had a very bad year and they have passed some uninformed bad laws. Trump needs to be sent away and the Mueller investigation quietly completed.
3
Another article (another abuse of power) in the bill of impeachment.
2
Let's say that Trump killed Muller. Since killing an FBI agent is a federal crime, he could pardon himself.
If you disagree with that, it automatically means that he can't pardon himself for any other crime.
Therefore he can't pardon himself.
Trump must have gotten some bad news from Devin Nunes and Paul Ryan about the findings that were presented to them at the recent classified briefing about a supposed “spy” in his campaign, as well as from others who have been brought before the Special Councel. He must now know that the guillotine is being oiled and sharpened and coming down soon, and what we’re witnessing are his last spasms of insanity.
2
Next defense: "My doctor has given me a note saying that my bone spurs prevent me from having to go to court"
Other leaders have claimed "Absolute" power and authority. Their head landed in guillotine buckets, or were garroted by the hanging rope, or were shot by firing squads.
Hmmm.
If I recall, we had a revolution against that sort of leadership.
9
Now is the time to lean on every single member of the GOP to publicly and in writing denounce DJT.
If they do not, vote them out. Without exception!
We have make acceptance of this administration a political death sentence for every republican and elected official. All of them! Every one!
Many believed Facebook was too big to fail- its crumbling before our eyes due to mishaps with data and now public outrage.
A singular clear message to all elected officials is what is needed now.
Message to elected officials: Publicly rebuke DJT at every turn, or accept that you are in your last term in office!
12
These are not the tweets of an innocent man. Mr. Mueller, bring it on!
16
Trump sounds guilty and obsessed with it. Bringing up he that he could pardon himself admits more than he realizes.
His legal/ethics scandals remain groundbreaking issues driving an unknown constitutional crisis.
Far from the norm of presidential response in a representative republic, including the behavior of his obstructionist press staff.
Every day it is a mix of dominant alpha male syndrome overlaid with abject insecurity. This man is unhinged.
500 days into the scariest president of my lifetime.
Republicans are hiding out. The House of Representatives schedule for the month of June can't be accessed online beyond Friday, June 1st, where it read the house was adjourned.
17
Only a guilty man would be so obsessed with pardoning himself. After all, pardoning is admitting your guilt.
16
President Flim-flam: con after con after con et seq.
7
We have to remember that Trump's statements come from someone who lies as a constant form of communication, "truthful hyperbole" and the like. It's a waste of time and comments to think that maybe he believes himself.
Capitalizing and exclamation marks are more reminiscent of a poorly raised 6 year old, who thinks that if he yells back at someone he'll get his way.
That he would hire a crazed mouthpiece like Giuliani, who also makes outlandish statements but doesn't seem to get his facts right very often, shows Trump thinks they can out-blabber the facts.
It is inconsistent to claim he's done nothing wrong while suggesting he may pardon himself; if there was nothing wrong he wouldn't need to waste a perfectly good pardon.
All of this is the desperate writhing of someone headed for the gallows, who thinks that if he calls out to the onlookers they might come to save him.
And just imagine if Hillary had become President, and was being investigated for the same things, with as much evidence as we've already seen about Trump; how much Trump & his groupies and Giuliani would be demanding a firing squad.
8
Looks like all the dictators Trump has expressed admiration for have made him jealous. Now he wants to join their club.
5
I'm not a lawyer nor have I attended law school, but... a sitting president cannot be indicted. If they can't be indicted, they can't be convicted of a crime (so no need of pardon). A sitting president CAN be impeached. If they are removed from office by impeachment proceedings, they are no longer a sitting president. Once they are no longer a sitting president, presumably they could be indicted and convicted. If not a sitting president, they would have no power to pardon anybody, including themselves
5
I assume Trump is admitting to guilt if he requires a pardon. If he is guilty then why would anyone follow him, admire him or ever vote for him again. He would also be open to civil lawsuits if he admits guilt.
4
All of the responses by Trump is a ploy to protect himself and points to his guilt.
No person is above the law.
No matter the position, a person guilty of crime needs to be subject to law.
Trump needs to abide by our country's laws and answer questions when there is doubt as to his actions.
As a united country we must adhere to justice and equality for all -- and that includes politicians and presidents.
2
These are not the actions or arguments of an innocent person. I'm sorry but anyone with a few functional brain cells can see that.
8
Trump is totally unfit to serve as president.
9
Just try it. Really. I'd love to see what happens.
2
Dictatorship in the making folks, right before our eyes.
15
It's interesting though how the feelings about this president has changed from previous administrations. I learned this the other day from talking to a group of people. An older gentleman who among others in the group were Regan and both Bush's supporters, raised the point of considering all the lies before and after the election, unethical family business dealings, questionable separation from his family business, denying release of tax statements, unconstitutional and illegal actions he has committed, all misleading information given, discriminatory actions, changes in his administration, unfit departmental secretaries, and the fact not performing his constitutional duties representing all the people; he could not understand who would wanted to kill Kennedy, Martin Luther, Bobby Kennedy and let this president get away with it. Although it's an interesting point, even though some of us thought it was rather far out thought, apparently somehow this question lingers out there.
2
Just how much of this insanity will the congressional Republicans allow before they do the job assigned to them by our Constitution? If they don’t get moving soon, Trump will be tweeting that he is our country’s king or dictator with absolute power.
10
It has long been apparent that Mr. Trump believes that in his case, his position would more accurately be labeled “supreme monarch,” rather than a mere “president.” The sooner Mr. Mueller is ready to put Trump's legal theories to the test, the better. If the courts agree that we no longer live in a constitutional democracy, the American people and world community ought to be informed.
5
King Charles 1st of England believed he too was above the law. While placing his head on a chopping block, he might have looked up at the axe, drawn by a man empowered by the puritan parliament, that perhaps he might have over-reached.
The puritans who put him to death, sailed to America and created a new political system, eventually freed of kings forever, so they thought. Keep up the spirit Americans. No kings, please!
11
Will Congress not rid us of this third rate crime family?
14
"I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong?"
That's Donnie's warped perception of reality. The fact that he believes his statement that "I didn't do anything illegal or wrong" negates any findings by Mueller is further evidence of that he does indeed regard himself as being 'above the law'.
5
Most of Donald Trump's conduct as president has been and continues to be unpardonable.
13
No matter your political ideology, you must be alarmed at the prospect of a President who seems to think that he is not accountable, and can never be accountable to, the law.
It's possible that Mr. Trump has, in fact, broken no law. But that determination must be made by a judge or a jury, if in fact he is charged, or by a prosecutor who is investigating. No citizen has the right to cut off a police inquiry into her behavior. The chief executive is a citizen above all.
Trump's assertion of the right to pardon himself is the talk of a despot. It is deeply un-American. So is his lawyer's claim that he cannot ever obstruct justice. Our Constitution provides no such blanket immunity from the laws enacted by the people's representatives in Congress.
17
November is the beginning of the solution; vote straight Democrat.
Don't riot in the streets yet because Trump will take it as the reason to cancel the November election.
Those times are dangerous for your democracy; be smarts and cautious.
Too bad for America
8
The appointment of Mueller is completely within the Constitution and should be allowed to run it's full course. Not guilty? Then no worries!
We are at a point in our history where fox/conservatives/trump have completely sold out the Constitution and our country. This wouldn't have been possible without enacting decades of GOP de-education policies since Reagan's election in 1980.
The Great Dumbing Down of America has produced a mind numbed electorate which is working in trumps and Putins favor. After all, the gop understands that an uneducated voter is a republican voter - we can reverse the damage!
trump is an anti-Constitution, anti American idiot. His supporters are in favor of his idiocy. Why? There's a Sucker born every minute.
Vote. Get out, campaign for our Constitution, campaign for Education, campaign for the People, and vote for leaders that favor policies that favor people. Vote!
6
During a Roman Triumph, as a victorious general, his army and the spoils of war paraded through the city, a slave would ride with the general in his chariot to remind him during his moment of glory that no matter how big he felt in that moment, he was a mere mortal. It was a justified concern. A powerful general could easily threaten an inherently fragile republic.
American presidents have never needed reminding that they are not all powerful. Even the worst among them resigned when he realized he was trapped.
But in 2018 we have a president that needs to be reminded that he is not all powerful. He is not a king, he is the elected representative of the people and as such he is one of us.
I do think Trump is a moron and it’s easy to think of him as a harmless blowhard. He very well may be, but he is normalizing the actions of a tyrant which could, one day be used to dismantle our government by someone more capable.
9
Ah, the Divine Right of Kings... We fought a Revolution against it. And Trump can’t declare himself King. Not under our Constitution. Not now. Not ever.
3
He can’t declare himself King but he can, and is, steadily eroding our democratic system of government.
Trump: hubris.
The fall comes soon.
4
Go get your friends to vote in november. Give him a shellacking he will remember.
8
It's time for one of those conservatives who assert that the founders view of the world should be used to interpret the Constitution to stand up to these inane assertions by Trump. The people who established the government base upon our Constitution rejected kings and ruling classes and decided upon a government based upon laws with limits upon government powers and shared powers to prevent kings and ruling classes. These were men who would have provided kings and ruling classes for this country at the time. So why did they deliberately design a government which prevented these? Because the British King and the British ruling classes deprived them of a say in their own lives, and they did not wish to create a similar situation in their new republic. They were not all advocates of democracy but they had no desire to create a system where some could control the lives of all others.
2
This is how democracies die.
5
Can you picture President Steve Martin saying "Paaaaaaaaardon Me!"
1
It's time for a military coup...Egyptian style!!!
1
Trump is as mad as a hatter and should be relieved of his duties while he receives psychiatric care. His Congress knows he is ill. They have always known. They have stood by him nonetheless making themselves complicit in his insane deeds and looking all of them like silly fools. No wonder they have accomplished little for the good of the country and instead done evil. The worst, like Ryan, are running away with their tails between their legs.
3
So sad to see that millions of American adults fervently adore this mountebank impostor. They would gladly live under a king named Trump, whose powers were absolute. If the US military supports him, then it will become a reality. That's why the upcoming elections are critical to halt this maniac's ambition.
5
"Numerous legal scholars" all named Giuliani?
3
Words spoken by a psychopath: our president who has never read the Constitution and can’t even spell.
1
I will say one thing, for someone who whines on about hoax, fraud, phony investigation and witch hunt and now, pardoning himself...…….Donald Trump sounds an awful lot like a guilty man who knows he has something to hide.
10
He has put himself above the law, without any checks.
What's the difference between that and "l'etat c'est moi"?
Nothing.
Well over 200 years of checks and balances, out the window, to this six-times bankrupt "great" businessman?
8
YRH Trump, your supposed friend Rudi is doing you a disservice--you shouldn't be paying him what must be horrendous legal fees for such advice. Rudi has his own agenda--he wants to be POTUS.
YRH (your royal heiny), I hate to break it to you but YOU ARE NOT KING--at best you are perhaps COURT JESTER.
2
What more will citizens of the US have to endure before we resolve this Constitutional crisis? Republicans have made clear they will enable and protect the president, damned the consequences for the country.
Most depressing, where are the Democrats? Do they still exist? If the late Sen. Robert Byrd were still alive, he would put the Senate on hold until action is taken. The current Democratic leadership are just a massive disappointment. Unwilling to lead.
Ok America voting for him is one thing, letting Trump make a mockery of your political system is another.
This is really starting to undermine any pretensions of authority that America has when speaking to other countries democratic processes.
2
In response tp Mr.Trump's latest tirade, the duly elected members of the Congress must begin to consider the options available to our country. Their silent acquiescence to his behavior has led us to this crisis. If they cannot prevail on him to consider the future of all of us, they must begin impeachment proceedings now.
We cannot wait until we end with a non-functioning government spewing insanties around the globe.
"I was just kidding" is not going to prevent world wide government crises if he is not reined in now.
"In the wake of Mr. Trump’s tweets, Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters that 'if I were president of the United States and I had a lawyer that told me I could pardon myself, I think I would hire a new lawyer.'”
In fact, cowards like Grassley will do NOTHING to stop Trump from overthrowing democracy. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator SHOULD be saying that pardoning himself WILL be grounds for impeachment, and that Grassley will lead the effort.
2
Desperate to avoid subpoena, indictment and/or impeachment, not necessarily in that order, Trump lawyers are proposing the extremes of avoiding such, not because they think it will work, but because they see it as a negotiating tactic to try and protect their client. Knowing Mueller would realize the country will be thrown into mayhem if he were to attempt to pardon himself or even act as if he is above the law, might gain Trump some leniency going forward. Since the Nunes memo thing hasn't worked, nor the House Republicans report from their investigation, they now have to go to more extreme measures. Not to mention the facts are flying out in their faces currently, with their stories being 'remembered' differently about the Trump Tower meeting and the subsequent drafts to the media related, it behooves them to get in front of this, as they did the Stormy Daniels hush payment, by putting it out their themselves, so as not to shock their base into hearing the actual truth in raw form. The day of reckoning is coming. Justice will be served. The truth will come into the light and darkness will not be able to shade it or conceal it anymore.
1
Self pardon claim means Team Trump knows it is the calm before the storm.
3
It would not surprise me if the president decides to pardon himself. He has no respect for the rule of law as the basis of our republic. To be sure, a pardon will cause protesting or even rioting. However the act of a pardon in itself is not an impeachable offense. The country would lurch into a constitutional crisis as Congress would be pressed to rein in the executive branch and the Supreme Court would be pressed into uncharted territory in deciding whether the president's actions squares with the framers' intent. But the underlying issue still isn't addressed and will, I fear, cause a greater problem. I can see why people voted for the president in the last election. They were tired of business-as-usual politicians whose actions seem far removed from those of average citizens. The acceleration of globalization helped to move jobs out of our country and the acceleration of technology left citizens behind in job skills. Looking at the situation from a supporter of the president, it looks like "the establishment" (there's an old term!) trying to get rid of the interloper. The issue that a percentage of our citizenry (Trump base) felt disenfranchised enough to send a message still remains even when Congress and the Supreme Court act (or not) in a constitutional crisis. And unfortunately, neither Congress nor the Supreme Court can repair the gash the the Trump presidency has exposed in our national body.
1
If we had a President who claimed that no matter what laws he breaks he cannot be indicted, subpoenaed, questioned, prosecuted or convicted he would basically be saying he is above the law. That leaves only one option: Congress must impeach that president and force him to resign. After that our courts can proceed.
Is that what President Trump is asking for?
"...he insisted that “numerous legal scholars” have concluded that he has the absolute right to do so, a claim that vastly overstates the legal thinking on the issue."
BUT "VASTLY OVERSTATING"
IS HIS PERSONAL MOTTO.
1
We can disagree about domestic and foreign policy. We can disagree about whether the President is doing a proper job. We can disagree about whether the creation of a special prosecutor was constitutional. But we cannot disagree that the President may pardon himself if indicted or convicted of crime. Those who support such a extreme view of presidential power are toying with supporting dictatorship.
1
This says it all: The president's lawyers claim that Mr. Trump could not be indicted as a sitting president even if he were to shoot Mr. Comey.
1
I don't think that, logically, there's a problem here. If Mueller's investigation (or anyone else's) reveals strong and compelling evidence that Mr. Trump committed a crime while in office, the impeachment process will be initiated, as set forth in the Constitution. If the President pardons himself prior to impeachment, it's a clear and irrefutable admission of guilt and should only hasten the impeachment process. If the impeachment process fails to lead to the President's removal when criminality is firmly established, not only would there be a Constitutional crisis, we'd be in one ugly state of affairs.
Good to know in the midst of a budding trade war with half the world, plus the G7, and NK talks coming up over the next weeks, Trump lays awake in the early morning publicly going over what moves he could make (if he had to) for keeping his totally innocent behind out of prison. The US needs a new CEO and pronto!
5
A President does not have the power to grant a reprieve or pardon in cases of impeachment. It is stated plainly in Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution.
This should concern anyone that might be involved in any matter that leads to an impeachment case against a President. They would all be part of the case. As such, the document does not appear to permit any pardon.
Hate to say it, mr. trump, but you can be investigated, you are being investigated, and you will be impeached. After your removal from office, you will be prosecuted for your crimes. No presidential pardon awaits you.
2
Trump is so guilty. Why would a president even mention the “right” to pardon himself if he didn’t think he would need to do so? It implies that he thinks the special counsel has found evidence against him and that the evidence and the testimony of former aides will be strong and convincing. He’s running scared, really scared.
So Trump does believe the laws of the land are only for his subjects and King Donald is immune. Just what is King Donald hiding. He quite obviously has broken the law or he would not be seeking immunity. Lock him up.
4
Could Giuliani's comment about Trump shooting Jim Comey with impunity be considered incitement to murder? I think Giuliani is on the way out, he is getting more press coverage than the Donald.
3
If Trump has done nothing wrong, as he claims, why does he not release his past income tax returns?
2
We must vote out the GOP. For the sake of our democracy.
3
Our president claims his right to pardon himself or otherwise upset the rule of law due to hyprocricy of GOP leaders. Does it mean he can kill someone and still will be able to pardon himself if GOP does not move (of course he made that claim during the election campaign). Is there anybody (constitutional expert or real patriot) to combat such tweet from the President in our country? He and his family can sell presidency to the highest bidders as long as he and his family can make money now and later like 3rd world leaders and nobody will hold him responsible. he can also make his associates and clonies corrupt as long as they keep theatening others like Mr. Cohen. he has gone bankrupt more than eleven times to take advantage of the government treasury. he can now is the owner of the treasury to make it bankrupt with no consequence due to unfair trade and business deal.
According to trump, he is not above the law. He IS the law ... now.
Only trump could think it appropriate to forgive himself.
Indeed:
- he's most merciful ... to himself.
- he's most generous ... to himself.
- he's most grateful ... to himself.
- he's most empathetic ... to himself.
....
1
Mis-using one's public position to pardon oneself from crimes against the nation is a conflict of interest.
All the rest is noise.
1
Where did the megalomaniac get his 'constitutional law degree', at Fake Trump University?
Mueller should subpoena Trump and let the S.Ct. slap Trump down hard when he challenges the subpoena. No one in this country is above the law, and Republicans who support Trump are complicit in his outrageous efforts to undermine our democracy. Trump wouldn't know the Constitution if it hit him in the face. I'd bet any amount of money he hasn't read it -- even though the Gold Star dad at the Democratic convention offered to lend Trump his copy. Trump doesn't read. He is unfit to be president any way you look at it and he besmirches our country with every tweet and every action. He is a corrupt con man.
4
The next Divine Right will be to dissolve Congress since Trump is the State. Far-fetched? Don't kid yourselves.
Reading the word "mid-terms" is absolutely the key here. Everything Trump is doing is designed to rev up his base to turn out in the fall election. So he continue to imply that the "deep state" is continuously and to corruptly design that base their rightful president. While dastardly, for Trump it makes total sense. And I suspect it will raise turnout. The good news I believe is that Trump is simultaneously revving up his deep and increasingly furious opposition. I think they will turn out in large numbers to deny the ugly and cruel racism, xenophobia and nationalism driving his Administration.
The President can't pardon himself. His pardon power an dominion over the Justice Department comes from the Constitution in the form of his duty to insure " the faithful execution of the law". The law cannot be faithfully executed if he distorts it application for himself. In fact, he may pardon anyone but himself
TRUMP IS UNCONSCIONABLE - there's the rub. His distorted view of reality belongs in one of his "institutions" where they will call him "Bubba".
Ignore his psychotic Tweets and they'll go away - especially after his minions are defeated in the primaries. DO NOT ignore his traitorous actions, though - THEY need to be stopped.
2
If Mr. Trump had done nothing wrong, he would not be talking of pardoning himself, nor would his attorneys being writing about his being able to do so.
However, Mr. Trump has done plenty wrong, including telling American secrets to Russians and others in a braggadocio manner. This is a far more weighty issue than obstruction of justice, which he appears to have also committed.
I suspect that Mr. Mueller has enough evidence to convict Mr. Trump on obstruction and is now following up to obtain even more evidence.
We (sadly) elected a president, not a dictator.
1
Trump, the ego driven Dictator-in-Chief, thinks he can pardon himself.
Trump thinks he is God Almighty himself.
Trump could never wrestle with his conscience because he has no conscience.
Trump has no knowledge or feeling of right and wrong.
The hubris of this ..... creature is unfathomable.
The very safe and serious conclusion we can easily reach is that he is truly guilty of all actions for which he is being investigated.
There is more than one way to advertise one's guilt.
His excessive behavior is his bright red flag of guilt and it is also his large banner of desperation.
"I am not a crook." Those are words I thought I'd never hear again from a United States President. I'm so glad that President Trump chose different words: "I have done nothing wrong." At least they both had the good sense to ask for a legal opinion about whether they could pardon themselves. If only Richard Nixon had the luxury of time to retain serial counsel until he heard what he probably wanted to hear.
The daily onslaught of outrageous tweets and comments coming out of Washington are numbing. Is that their intention? Are they trying to make us numb so we stop paying attention so they can get away with whatever they want?
1
If the President is above the Law, then we don't have a President, At best we have a despotic King, at worst a dictator.
This is not a monarchy, but we are at risk of losing our representative democracy.
There's no reasoning with the wackadoodles. I've been clean my whole life, but listening to this makes me want to start using LSD. No wonder we have an opioid problem. Who wants to be sober listening to Trump's nonsense 24/7?
Yet, wealthy and powerful people still stand behind him because they're either spineless, already in too deep to get out, or have more interest in their wallets than the human civilization. Who's got a good dealer?
2
Dude you forgot one most important “or”:
Or watches Fox News
1
"President Trump declared Monday that the appointment of the special counsel in the Russia investigation is “totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL!”"
Thank God he's displaying his madness for all to see before the upcoming elections.
May he continue to taunt us with his ravings until November 6th.
4
All those sad trial balloons with the Seinfeldian disclaimer, "Not that there's anything to pardon."
1
Here is a scenario for thought...lets say its 2013 again and Obama is president. An issue has come up about Obama's ties to Egypt, some individuals have testified Egypt contributed to his campaign, there are documents provided but they are not available for authentication, Congress appoints a special prosecutor and the prosecutor is ready to indict and go ahead with a fake case against Obama, his plan is to indict Obama. All the Dems and a few republicans who have looked at this think there is nothing to it. Would Obama be right in firing the special prosecutor or dismissing his authority??
No, but Congress and the courts can issue an opinion that negates any findings
By preemptively claiming pardoning privileges Trump is blatantly admitting his guilt. Shades of O.J. Simpson's absurdly titled biography "If I Did It" If ever there was a question of OJ's guilt that book answered it. It would be comforting to imagine Trump agonizing over potential punishments for his nefarious
actions, but he clearly has no more a sense of shame than he has an iota of compassion. His mounting crimes against our nation and the earth's environment must be stopped.
2
This is an attempt by Trump to declare himself above the law and indeed a dictator. We must all oppose him on this matter.
2
The IndivisibleAgainstTrump / Democrat Resistance Movement is just as 'above the law ' as any of the potential pardoning ' of himself ' President Trump fantasy being debated. Tired of the nasty anarchy of the Far Left. JFK must be twirling in his grave at the incivility of the current Democrat Party.
our forefathers did not break with england so we could return to monarchy rule of law.
4
Since when is 45 a Constitutional Scholar?
2
An "absolute" power to pardon. An "unconstitutional" Special Counsel. The president speaks increasingly in the manner of a totalitarian despot. This is starting to feel like that moment in Titanic when the stern of the ship reached an apex, soon to be plunged into the ocean.
2
Gee, he hasn't learned much about this "governing thing", but he is learning a few big new words!
1
Trump, most likely, has never read The Constitution nor demonstrated the ability to understand it if he did, It starts with the simple differentiation between President (elected office) and Dictator (office assumed by power), democracy vs. autocracy, and government by law and Constitution - legislation vs. Fiat -dictate.
2
Public, televised, sworn testimony to a congressional committee which will only happen if voters turnout and put in place a congress willing to do their constitutional duty.
That is only reasonable path forward.
Citizens must vote. Congress must serve as a co-equal branch of government. We can't delegate our responsibilities.
5
As a poor Canadian I have to admit I’ve always been confused by the power to issue pardons which you’ve bestowed on your Presidents. For a country which was born out of a war to throw off a monarchy, you sure seem to like to hang onto monarchical ideas.
It’s actually really kinda weird.
12
If Trump, or any President, were to pardon himself I would expect a very quick bipartisan impeachment by Congress.
7
Not with the craven bunch occupying Congress at the moment....no way.
2
Don't be so sure. Congressional members would be worried about their own skins. They will only give so far to protect Trump for fear of being voted out. They would replace him with Pence if they could.
The only way we can contain this madman, so-called leader, is to neuter him at the mid-terms. Grab him where it counts. That means some of the brave Dems who have step forward to run for a seat in the House will have to be brave enough to step aside to ensure the strongest Dem in his/her district wins. Dems can’t afford to splitter their vote. Otherwise, trump can continue to do more harm to the country for another 2 years.
4
We need a movement to impeach Trump and it needs to come from the Republican side of the aisle. The Republicans would gain immense moral capital from such a move. It would show that they actually care about this country and are not just a bunch of partisan politicos.
We also need legislation that ensures no president can pardon him or herself now or in the future. we are a nation of laws. We like to say "no one is above the law". It looks like we need to pass a law now to make it true.
9
Meritocracy +++
What the GOP has failed to realize is that there are many Republicans voters who want to show Trump the door as soon as possible.
I know quite a few of them. Many of them are now Independents.
Right here in in CT. the strong Republican towns (New Canaan, Darien, Wilton, Greenwich) voted in 2016 for ...... Hillary Clinton.
Well educated, well off, and well-informed voters put common sense ahead of party and did the only sensible thing in the privacy of their voting booths.
Encourage correct thinking Republicans to send a message to the GOP by changing their registration to Democrat prior to the election this November.
Or register as an Independent, depending on strength of conviction.
Later on register again to whatever is preferred.
Or become an Independent.
It is all a matter of choice based on prevailing circumstances.
But this time around .......... Trump must go.
There is no excuse for this inexcusable man. The entire history of evolution may even be unable to account for such a pathological creature. No god in any religion could or should absolve him of his horrible character. No pardon. No forgiveness. No amnesty. He should only serve as the worst of role models for future generations and be given an interminable prison sentence, a mop, and an endless supply of toilets to clean.
7
Trump and his bad GOP have now made a dictatorship out of our Presidency. When he said he has absolute power. He needs to be removed from office with his mental unstableness .
NK and SK had better demand he and his unstable GOP need to stay out of the peace talks. He already mentioned many times he will walk out anyway. Rudy really knows how to keep stirring trouble everywhere he ends up.
1
Waiting for the Republican Party to do or say something about Trump is a complete waste of time, because Trump embodies the party's innermost authoritarian/fascist desires. They are silent for a reason, just as Trump was silent about Roseanne Barr's racism; there is no separation.
This bears repeating and is not hyperbole: every single Republican officeholder nationwide needs to be thrown out of office. They are traitors to our nation's ideals and a threat to our democracy.
5
Now that the president has established this newly imagined authority to pardon himself he'll need to get busy on his vast back catalog of offenses. Should keep him out of sight until his term is up...
13
The special counsel is perfectly appropriate. Trump
Is off his rocker. He has never read the Constitution and knows nothing about being president. He thinks being a US president is the same as being a fascist dictator. Well it ain’t. These tweets are not helping his case any. He should cut off his tweeter
5
So now in light of this and Conress’ inability to curb Mr Trump. We are entering into an era of modern monarchy. Or Fascism in the broadest sense of the word.
Next his highness will endeavor to remain in office for life.
As the other thugs , he admires.
2
"His lawyers at the time argued that the best way to bring the probe to an end was to cooperate fully and avoid public criticism."
Avoid public criticism? Get real. Trump's base will never criticize a thing he does. They take being "sheeple" to an entirely new level.
2
Come on already!
When are we going to ignore these tweets?
If the appointment of special counsel was unconstitutional, he would have stopped it already, don't you think?
But, he just loves the attention that the media gives him for any silly thing he says or tweets, and you guys ALWAYS take the bait.
4
For the Republicans supporting Trump's belief that he is above the law. One day there will be a democratic president and if you let Trump get away with these statements unchallenged then what happens when a democratic president does the same thing?
1
Well, you are asking this question of the same people who rushed to impeach Clinton "for lying" and yet, don't have so much as a peep of reproval for the constant stream of lies that have, and continue to, issue from this mock president on a daily basis.
1
"Numerous legal scholars", "many people are saying", "it"s what I've heard in the media", and other unsubstantiated references have become his legal encyclopedia so that he can now declare that the appointment of the special counsel was "unconstitutional". But I guess we've forgotten that he is his best Secretary of --------, his best Chief of Staff, his best lawyer, his best......., etc.
1
It is highly unlikely that we will have another president as corruption-prone as is this president. Trump’s naiveté makes it easier for the Court to establish conspiracy, corruption, treason, etc.
Therefore I think instead of preparing a report to the lawmakers, Mueller might be considering indicting Trump to start constitutional crisis so that the courts have a relatively straightforward job establishing the demarcation line between where the presidential immunity ends and where the “no one is above the law” principle kicks in.
1
Trump disrupts intelligent discussion with his self aggrandizing and clearly inane assertions like this. We are not discussing anything important from considering this stupid assertion. No President has absolute authority under our system of laws, it was designed and evolved to limit the powers of every branch of government and of every person elected to office, deliberately. It prevents dictatorship and ruling classes, very deliberately. Trump is always seeking to be the center of attention but he knows that our government does not provide the President with powers as he describes.
3
The recent rants by Trump's "legal team" (Giuliani et. al.) and Trump himself concerning the Special Prosecutor's investigation and Trump's exposure to criminal prosecution ignore important points. The President is immune from prosecution for presidential acts. An alleged conspiracy with Russian operatives to assist Trump in the election by hacking Democratic party e-mails and publicly releasing these is not a presidential act, but illegal campaign activity by a then candidate. Though Trump may be immune from criminal prosecution while President, that does not mean there can be no investigation by competent prosecutors of this alleged activity, which threatens national interests by allowing a hostile foreign government to attempt to install a compromised and incompetent candidate in the White House. It is an absurd and senseless argument that because he succeeded in getting elected the Constitution somehow thereafter permits him as the chief executive to bar any investigation of his own alleged misconduct and that of his colleagues, or to pardon himself for the illegal acts that made him President. Common law principles preventing conflict of interest have routinely been applied to utilize independent special prosecutors to prevent conflicted Presidential administrations from "investigating" themselves and impeding or compromising the Justice Department's investigative and prosecutorial functions (Watergate, Nixon; Iran contras, Reagan; Clinton, several things).
6
Trump's assertions of the right to pardon himself and the right to dismiss any indictment or action taken against him flies against every constitutional intent. The framers were very clear in their delineations of powers assigned to the three branches of government with no branch any more important than the others. In this they created a system of checks and balances. Mr Trump's overblown claims of executive privilege are antithetical to the very clear intent of the framers to guard against the executive assuming the powers of a king.
6
It seems that neither President Trump or his legal advisors have bothered to read US v. Nixon.
In that case, Richard Nixon argued that he had near complete executive privilege and did not have to turn over all the tapes that the special prosecutor had requested.
The court also rejected his claim of "absolute, unqualified Presidential privilege of immunity from judicial process under all circumstances."
In other words, not even the president is above the law.
For the president to pardon himself he would first have to be subject to at least a criminal indictment. Pardons can't be given out hypothetically. President Ford did pardon Nixon as one of his first acts as president.
But if Trump were subject to indictment, he would also be subject to impeachment. So at least in theory, he could pardon himself for anything allegations in the indictment or for things related to those allegations that he might have done.
But he would surely be impeached for those very things that he would no longer be criminally liable for.
But the court has made one thing clear. The president is not a king and is not above the law. More importantly, the court as an independent arm of government has the authority to tell the president what the law is, not the other way around.
4
Yes, Donald, and after you're done pardoning yourself, you can start the process of declaring 'the infallibility of the President of the United States".
Then you can do really cool things like declaring yourself President for Life. You could probably start anointing the sick and canonizing saints (but they will have to be dead first). Oh heck, canonize living people like Don Jr. and Ivanka to start. The things you could do with such powers boggles my mind!!
7
What happens if this comes to a head and the SCOTUS rules against the Trump and he has to testify... and he doesn't?
What happens if he pardons himself?
What if he's impeached, and he refuses to leave office?
What if, in 2020, he looses, and he refuses to leave office?
... and in all of the above, his core believers support him?
There's no good answer - would it come down to use of force - could it unfold into a Civil War?
5
I would point out that it's even more true that we have the right to impeach.
1
We did away the monarchy in this country circa 1776 only to find ourselves mired in a 2018 dictatorship. The rule of law in this country is not the ability to act with impunity from the country's highest office.
No one is or should be above the law. Especially not the president. Everything about his tweets, his comments on how he can get away with shooting people and assaulting women because he's "rich", the people he pardons, posturing reinforces, he has no respect for the laws of the country. Only proving him to be the most unamerican of americans.
8
All I can think of in response to this tweet is Article 25 of the Constitution. He must have a deep-seated desire for him to leave office, a desire that is shared by many.
4
Trump asserts his "absolute right" to pardon himself. With each passing day he sounds more and more like an absolute
monarch. How could the state be anything but moi, moi, moi? . How long before he claims to rule for the rest of his lifetime by divine right? That should please his supporters on the religious right though history suggests that might not end so well for him
and his family.
13
He sounds more and more like an absolute kook!
By Trump's line of reasoning, he should not need lawyers, since he can pardon himself of anything. To take this line of reasoning to it's logical conclusion, he could commit murder, then issue himself a pardon for it. This cannot possibly be what the founding fathers intended when they included the power of pardon in the Constitution. Granted, they could probably NEVER have imagined the likes of Donald Trump in the White House to begin with, else they would not have bothered to issue the Declaration of Independence from King George in the first place.
7
Why can't everyone just stop talking about Trump? Good, bad, or indifferent, this guy feeds off the attention!
1
Like a cheese attracts rodents, Trumps' 'right to pardon himself' tweet is a masterful communication intended to clog cable news, & prevent the focus on more important news, or review of his own agenda. Cable news takes the bait, and of course the New York Times amplies the foolish tweet.
Trump's self pardoning tweet opinion is not, in & of itself, news.
The moment Trump is impeached and removed from office, he looses the opportunity to pardon anybody. Trump could also be impeached, in spite of any criminal pardon he though he could give himself.
3
Unlike the former President, Donald Trump is not a Constitutional scholar, and therefore uniquely unqualified to make a determination as to the constitutionality of his powers.
7
Trump is not right in the head. It's not just that he is shameless and ready to do anything to get out of the mess he is in because of his own corrupt and obstructive actions and (plausible) treason. He never had any respect for the law: Trump paid fixers (lawyers) all his life to get away with abuse and mistreatment of employees, contractors, and women whom he assaulted or with whom he had relations outside marriage. But as more revelations and indictments come out over summer, he will be increasingly isolated. The GOP in Congress will continue to cover for him perhaps until the end of the year. Trump's fall will likely come in 2019. His darkest secrets in Cohen's tapes (and probably Putin's) will lose him the support of even much of his base. Once he is forced to resign, Trump will be pursued by legal claims and criminal prosecution. It's unlikely if both he and Pence are forced to leave, that the next administration will pardon him or that the American people will have a stomach for such a pardon.
6
Trump sounds so guilty. Why delve into he can pardon himself if he is innocent?
10
Trump must think that Mueller has the goods on him. Sad.
2
Robert - this whole issue has arisen because his lawyers are trying to prevent a subpoena from being issued. It really has nothing to do with Trump pardoning himself, rather the fact that he can pardon himself confers a sort of immunity on POTUS so he cannot be investigated for obstruction. Or so they say.
Trump’s tweet that he can pardon himself is sheer nonsense. He is an American citizen. If I can’t pardon myself of a crime neither can he. He is not a King and though he behaves like a tyrant legally he isn’t one. Where is the Republican Congress, or should I Trump Party Congress? Have the Republicans no pride? Has Congress lost its minds as well as its power? Why haven’t they clued This criminal president in on the facts of government?
4
As a moderate, Trump does NOT have the right to pardon himself. Pence, however, can do that for him. As for the "never ending witch hunt led by angry individuals" bit, yep... that's a good way of putting it.
Hold on there!! I think Mr Giuliani should be censured for his outrageous remark about if "Trump shot Comey," statement. When is it appropriate for a raging lunatic - that would be Giuliani - to suggest that an illegal firing of the head of our FBI doing an investigation into an act of war on our Democracy by a foreign power - that would be Russia - should be shot by another lunatic - that would be the current U.S. President - is beyond the pale. Period. Let's not give the base - that would be the you know who basket - any more hateful ideas. Enough all ready!! We might as well shut down this impotent White House, this hush-hush Congress that does not utter so much as a "peep" while tiptoeing into the darkness - since they are not even pretending to do the country's business. What a waste of our collective monies. Hopefully, Mr. Mueller - that would be the Rule of Law Guy - will hold any indictment sealed until both lunatics and their minor minions leave the Washington, DC, area. It would be a delight to see them brought to Justice - on live TV please - that would be Realty TV at its best - and that is all that is missing from this ridiculous scenario...Pardon himself indeed......uggg!!!
4
I don't know if trump could really give himself a pardon; but maybe if he really needs one by the time Thanksgiving comes around, the turkey who normally gets one will let trump have it. I of course think the turkey in question deserves it more, what did he do except be born into a world to only end up as someone's Thanksgiving dinner. Trump on the other hand chose to be "fowl" person.
4
No innocent person would behave like Trump. He constantly seeks to normalize the criminality of his family, his associates, and himself.
He claims to have done nothing wrong. But then claims his behavior couldn't be illegal because he's the president. And besides he can legally shut down any federal investigation. And the Mueller team consists only of partisan Democrats (wink, wink). And Hillary is the one who should be in jail. And Obama's Attorney General protected him. And of course I can pardon myself. And I shouldn't have to testify because I can't help lying.
Now, I want my two scoops of ice cream.
No, Donny Daycare. After impeachment, you probably deserve a long nap in federal prison.
3
Dear Republican Senators and Representatives,
Can you please stop pretending that trump is anything but a fool and danger to our country? It's time to give up your charade.
17
The most important bulwark protecting our Constitution is not the Constitution itself, not the Congress, not the Supreme Court...but by a combination of our moral values, sense of decency, and rectitude...and by our self-proclaimed exceptionalism as people of morality and decency.
Once these are trampled upon, thrown out, twisted for personal and political reasons, or ignored, the Constitution is -sadly- not worth the paper it was written on.
We were proud of our democracy and of our "checks and balances"...where are they now?
14
He doesn’t think that he is above the law; he just thinks that obeying the law is beneath him.
12
This tweet is either:
an edit from some authoritarian, who mistakenly believes he has the "absolute authority" of a king
or
someone well-versed and practiced in public relations, who believes that all he has to do is get out in front and influence, manage, and bias public opinion in his favor before the proverbial you-know-what hits the fan when the Mueller investigation discloses what it has found.
But it is certainly not "presidential," and is more than inappropriate and embarrassing behavior for the president of the richest, most powerful nation that has been held up for the world as a model of democracy.
Have we hit the bottom of the swamp yet?
7
So we have finally arrived at the logical conclusion to this saga. Trump & his cabal assert an absolute right to execute anyone who opposes them, thus declaring implicitly that election results are only valid if they choose to acknowledge them. If not, Trump simply arrests his opponent, or kills him. And, as his supporters all chant "YES", the American Experiment is now officially at a fundamental inflection point. Does it end here? It is up to the rest of the political elite to stand up, and it is up to each of us to make our voices heard.
5
It's unimaginable that the portrait of this unstable reckless man who (straight faced) produces daily doses of deceptive garbage will one day appear in a gallery along side portraits of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Obama, etc., etc.
In my view, our collective focus ought to be the relentless exposure of this incompetent president's dangerous emotional abnormalities rather than on the thirty nine flavors of wild goose chase distractions he deviously takes us on.
5
This might carry some weight if Mr. Trump had attended law school, practiced law and spent some time in careful study of the Constitution and the case law construing it over since it was drafted. Who knows, he might even have spent some time teaching Constitutional Law at a highly respected law school before entering politics.
But unlike the President who preceded him, Trump never has done any such thing. But he did have a 'highly rated,' albeit idiotic 'reality' television show, after all.
That seems to be more than enough for the millions of members of The Cult of Trump. Heck, he's so much the legal scholar, maybe he ought on the Supreme Court, when he's through 'deconstructing' the Office of the President.
8
I blame Mark Burnett for this whole debacle. I honestly do. They propped up an empty shell and made it look like a real hotshot to millions of Americans who were attracted to the false drama. What a horrible, horrible mistake- he should never have come closer to the White House than a tour.
2
Trump may ignore the legal and constitutional experts or the niceties of Constitution or limits of what he can or cannot do as president. But Trump should listen to his personal lawyer Rudy Guiliani, the one person who can do more damage to Trump that Trump himself. Rudy, with his eyes wide open, has said that Trump pardoning himself would lead to impeachment. That is one sound advice from a lawyer serving his client.
Since the function of and process at St. Peter's Gate are at the least allegorical, it follows that all persons stand in judgement of their actions before a higher authority than themselves. Only an offended party or one representing its interests can pardon an offender. The offender has not committed an offense against himself or herself and instead has recorded some gain at an offended party's expense. A self-pardon has no logical underpinning.
5
Trump says that "he has done nothing wrong". Trump's wrongdoing list is so wide, long and deep that it would fill the entire universe and dim the lights.
8
I suspect Pavlov's dog exhibited more self control and self awareness than our "progressives". Trump wakes up in the morning wondering how he can tweak the "progressive" media, and sends a tweet. The "progressive" media then performs exactly as expected.
1
Ha! Here's the punchline: The Supreme Court has ruled in Burdick v. United States that acceptance of a presidential pardon is an admission of guilt. Therefore if Trump did attempt to pardon himself for obstruction of justice, his acceptance of the pardon would immediately create iron-clad grounds for his impeachment. Mueller is playing chess, Trump and Giuliani are playing checkers.
10
i trust he realizes that in order to be pardoned one must admit guilt? hopefully he so realizes? maybe? wonder if he even considered that...
6
Right wing hypocrisy is beyond breath-taking. If Obama or Hillary had made just ONE of the false claims Trump has made, they'd have been impeached by now, with "lock them up" chants not far behind.
11
I believe that in Trump land, doing whatever you want is living the dream. It's their dream, and he's living it for them.
5
The reign of Henry the Eighth comes to mind when I think of Trump's belief in his powers as Commander in Chief.
5
He reminds me of Henry VIII too.
Where's his third wife Melania?
She’s laying low until the scars from her recent something lift or augment or removal or otherwise altered heal
Hillary Clinton withstood over nine hours of questioning on Benghazi by many of the same characters now shielding the Current Occupant. Trump always wants to "prove" he's the best, the strongest, the winning-est at everything (contrary facts notwithstanding), so until he submits himself to the same kind of interrogation by Mueller, he really just substantiates not only how very weak he is, but also how a woman beat him once again (election results very much in mind).
13
No president in the history of this country has appeared more guilty of serious crimes, and no group of Americans has ever appeared more hypocritical than his supporters. Flip the situation around and imagine the reaction to Hillary or Obama making these types of statements, I do not think it is a stretch to say that the country would be on the brink of civil war.
10
This 1 “very Angry and Conflicted” president arrived at his conclusion by studying the Constitution of - now which country was that?
11
Well, if he does, we'll need to call a national strike.
8
Trump claims of unconstitutionality are possible only because the act of Congress establishing the Department of Justice delineates inadequately restrictions on the presidency. Had these been made clear, we would not now be relying on norms of conduct to uphold governing values that a self-serving president can easily confound. Questions such as whether a sitting president can be indicted or can pardon himself should not arise in a government that is sufficiently defined by its constitution and laws. In response to the Trump era, Congress should rewrite the act establishing the Department of Justice so a president cannot again be an existential threat to the nation.
6
The Constitution says no such thing. This is the last straw. Next he will appoint himself KING. He really is crazy. His parents knew he was crazy and sent him away to a military school. This is the most outrageous thing he has done and we have to stand against him. There are those on SCOTUS who agree and probably the Senate GOPs would mostly agree too. Vote Democratic in this election. Get out and vote. Let's put some sane people in Congress.
10
Doesn't someone have to be convicted of a crime before they are pardoned? Doesn't the president have to be impeached before he can stand trial? If that is the case, wouldn't Trump be a former president without the power to pardon himself if convicted?
I don't get it.
8
Pence has undoubtedly already reassured Trump that
he will pardon him if he is accused of any crime, including shooting someone on 5th Avenue
It makes sense that a special counsel is unconstitutional - cannot have some unelected group have the power to overturn a democratic election using fabricated charges and evidence. That is a threat to "our" democracy.
Just for the record, "our" democracy did not elect Donald Trump.
1
Only a small number of Americans voted for Mr. Trump.
Lots of Americans voted for sanity (not Hannity)
Our founding fathers voted for the Constitution.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly violated the Constitution.
America needs an Independent Department of Justice, and instead America watches in horror as a mentally ill, Narcissistic, compulsive LIAR-in-Chief threatens the existence of our Nation.
7
I think Trump must really be worried about Cohen's tapes or something like that. I have feeling there is going to be a big break in this case soon.
9
Dear A Reader, You may be right.
What IF,
Trump's threats convince some witnesses to tell the truth about him, under oath. And then more people squeal on him, and more and more...
Thus, Trump's threats may backfire on him!
================================
1
Trumps presidency has and will be a critical one for us to utilize in deciding what never to do again.
14
Two amendments to the constitution need to be enacted in a hurry.
1- The president cannot pardon himself of any crime, any attempt to issue pardon to self should be grounds for impeachment, and immediate removal. This is just nuts [the last phrase should be included in the language of the amendment]
2- The president shall not use any form of social network while in office, no Twitter, no Facebook, no future social network that haven’t been invented as of 2018. The president shall speak to the public either from oval office to address the nation on TV [as TV is defined in 2018], or hold press conference where human press people [also as defined in 2018]are present to ask questions. Failure comply with this amendment should be ground for impeachment, and immediate removal from office.
11
love it!
3
Mueller is simply letting Trump hang himself.
The more time passes, the more frantic Trump is.
It's obvious that Trump can't handle the stress and is very much accustomed to everyone smoothing things out for him.
7
Accounting to no one, it seems,
Is part of the president’s schemes.
“Get out of jail free”
Is his litany
Whenever the Fourth Estate screams.
2
Now he can really shoot someone -- or as many as he wish -- on the Fifth Ave and go home scott-free!
4
Reality TV Nation!
The USA is proof of Oscar Wilde's assertion that "Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life".
In the immortal words of Jake Blues of The Blues Brothers fame: "You got us into this parking lot, pal, now you get us out". I think someone better fix the situation in the White House before Trump & Rudy make it and the rest of your look like the mall scene from the movie.
Just some advice for you from your loving neighbour to the north.
Oh, and Happy Monday!
4
Did anyone watch the Bannon interview with Fareed Zakaria or read the article about Miller in The Atlantic by Mckay Coppins? The common thread is the twisted desire to freak out liberals by saying the most outrageous and controversial things. They revel in riling us up and luxuriate in our disdain. It is also a fantastic distraction technique.
I feel like I have been banging my head against a brick wall for 500 days. It seems the "King" defense strategy letter was leaked by the Trump team and today's tweets were about adding gas to the fire.
It is impossible not to be outraged by the latest ridiculous claims. My question is how do we do it without playing right into their hands?
No really, how? My snowflake head is really starting to hurt and I no longer enjoy watching The Handmaid's Tale because I actually start to wonder if it could come true!
5
Will the real Americans in congress please stand up?
16
No Trump, pardon me but I beg to differ. What is "totally unconstitutional" is your attitude that you are above the law. You cannot pardon yourself, clearly, because that would put you above the law, and above the Constitution, which does not specify that the president is exempt from the laws of the nation.
4
All I want to know is when the United States Congress will finally take a position and show some backbone to the quasi-dictator who has, by fault of the electoral college, become our president. How much humiliation and embarrassment on the world stage must we endure before our elected officials begin representing us instead of playing deaf, dumb and blind to this "monarch". Republicans MUST show some backbone or get out of the way and allow someone else to put Donnie in his place!
3
This is exactly how it must have happened in Germany and Italy in the 1930s. Hitler and Mussolini did not arrive on the scene announcing that they were autocrats who were above the law. They did not disclose that they were tyrants who planned to eliminate anyone and anything that displeased them.
No. Like Trump, they did it a little at a time. It began with outrageous statements about "others" who were not in the majority. This appealed to the ignorant, the bigoted, the folks who contribute the least to society but have grievances against "others" who do contribute and, therefore, who have more than the bigots do.
Oh My God. Trump is taking us to a very scary place. Can't he be stopped? I respect Mr. Mueller for doing a thorough job, but for God's Sake, can't we put this into gear to lawfully remove this monster from the Oval Office? Every day we wait, this so-called President is one day closer to absolute and tyrannical rule.
7
We New Yorkers were absolutely right to recognize the Donald as a pompous fraud.
15
Can you imagine the reception he'll get if he comes back to live in NYC ?
4
All due respect to thoughtful New Yorkers, but this was abundantly clear for decades to sentient beings everywhere.
3
Stop treason.
Erradicate Trump Inc.
7
Please read Article II, Section 2, 1st sentence. The President cannot grant pardons in cases of impeachment. Plain language. Donny and Rudy think they're smarter than the other impeached Presidents, but they are blathering idiots.
10
There has never been a chief executive of this country who has showed so little class as to exhibit such an infantile, self-obsessed mania as this one. Eventually he'll probably end up in a rubber room if he lasts that long.
9
Impeach him now. We can't procrastinate any longer. This gut has shown us his true colors. Enough is enough. What are ee waiting for?
6
We know Trump loves gold and mainly uses brass, but the faker who now takes this cake sure has got it W R O N G. He's a wily liar though using his tweet tweet tweets to stoke media coverage and rage for his foolish base. Sadly, we keep taking the bait. But NO doubt about it, Trump is a conman. A Lying L I A R. Who will say anything to weasel out of responsibility for his actions and crimes. Just sayin.
IF you care about your country you M U S T VOTE Democrats IN. Let US send trump and his KAKISTOCRACY packing.
2
Go ahead, prez, pardon yourself. Just know this: a vast Majority of fellow Americans -- 70% of us (and growing) -- will never pardon you.
18
ll his threats against one of us are threats against all.
If one man can be murdered by him, so can any of us.
Some people seem not to realize it, some of us saw this day coming long ago.
Where was the free press when he declared it "the enemy"? Trying to believe it was only aimed at his critics, which while fully impeachable as a High Crime, they as individual entities thought they could rise above, take it personally, shrug it off. Forgetting the rest of us.
Please.
Editors. It is long past the time.
Demand he be called before Congress to account for his speech and his silences, for the many "presidential statements" his communications to the American people, as he refers to his social media utterances, that are violently hostile to the Constitution.
Demand Congress begin as Mueller did, with a list of "What was your purpose in...?" questions regarding these things.
Denad he be asked: You say you can murder one man and be above the law.In your thinking, can you murder anyone that way? Can you murder me?
If he refuses, impeach.
We are all Comey. We are all the New York Times.
We are all the military widow.
We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.
7
Yes, Donny Trump will pardon himself and anyone else who is a threat to him, starting with Michael Cohen. Why do you think Cohen smiles as he walks in and out of court?
And without a check or a balance in Congress, he will get away with it.
The question we all want to ponder is what will happen when the Dems take back at least one house of Congress? Does all hell break loose?
2
If anyone is still wondering how someone like Hitler can come to power, just see any comment by a Trump supporter. There’s your answer.
12
It's becoming that nightmare where no matter how hard you pinch...
6
President Donald J. Trump’s 500 Days of American Greatness.”
A rounding error when measured against the 88,330 since 1776. An annoying pebble in democracy’s shoe.
2
DJT appears to be learning a lot from and growing ever day in his appreciation and admiration of N. Korea's Kim Jong-un.
2
All the time now spent catering to Trump's ego and insanity ... would that time not be better spent dealing with real issues in the country?
I am SO tired of all this. This presidency is a total travesty.
7
Hahahahahahahaha!!! But Legal Eagle Guiliani says POTUS would never pardon himself because that could lead to impeachment. This administration is one bad joke after one really bad joke. These are obviously threats to intimidate Mueller. I suspect, that with his long service with the FBI and the Jusitice Department, Mueller is kind of above intimidation.
6
Chief Justice Roberts is not stupid. If this tempest in a teapot reaches SCOTUS, Roberts will not allow his historical Roberts Court go down in footnote flames for having supported Trash Trump.
However, Gorsuch is probably having some sleepless nights.
6
Americans are stupid. they will continue to support this corruption for the next two terms. Nothing to do.
2
The more he protests, the more guilty he appears. This behavior is of course not proof of his guilt, but what other reasons could there be ? All these meeting with campaign officials, family members and Russian middlemen with connections back to Putin were done for the good of the country ? Given Trump's history of wheeling and dealing to make a buck and screw whomever got in the way makes one wonder about the real motives behind the Russian connections. Hopefully, Robert Mueller will make all this crystal clear.
3
If trump has the power to do anything, why doesn't he just cancel the elections and dissolve congress? Perhaps he could also hire hit men to kill every prominent democrat, and simply pardon them - as long as it is done in the district of columbia, where all crimes are federal crimes, no state crimes. Then again - why bother with hit men - since he controls the FBI, he can order FBI agents to do the killings. Maybe the executions could be broadcast on Fox, though it would get much better ratings if the victims were tortured first - perhaps drawn and quartered.
Welcome to Russia.
14
This memo was leaked by Trump to send a message to anyone who might decide to cooperate with the special counsel, and to Michael Cohen, who is is big trouble with the Southern District of New York and must have a lot of damning evidence of wrongdoings by the Trump Organization.
For Trump to say that he could pardon himself is a dare to Congres as well. Hopefully the GOP will start to realize that they have the constitutional responsibility to check this autocrat before he causes irreparable damage to our country.
11
Let me edit that. "before he causes more possibly irreparable damage".... He is already (in his first 500 days) doing so much damage, some of which my be irreparable to our standing in the world.
7
It seems that everyone is focusing on what the framers of the Constitution might think regarding Trump’s assertion that he is basically above the law based on his office.
I think this the wrong question to ask. We should be talking about what the writers of the 14th Amendment might have meant when they said that everyone is equal under the law. Presumably, as the 14th granted the same rights to all under the law, it also confers the same responsibilities.
This not Orwell’s “Animal Farm,” where “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
3
Isn't there a term for this among fringe groups, sovereign individuals, who think they are separate from the government.
1
Trump is assigning himself powers not granted by the Constitution. He has no say over what is or is not constitutional. He can bring a case before the courts, but he is totally out of line to make any declarations. If he pardons himself at any point, the people must demand that he be impeached and removed from office.
3
But that means he accepts his guilty plea to any Federal indictments and therefore can now be charged for State offenses, right? And since he admits his guilt already, it's an automatic sentence to a state penitentiary after he's out of office. Trump is basically saying "Lock me up!" Maybe this was Mueller's plan all along and Trump fell for it hook, line and sinker. Is anyone surprised?
2
Hopefully after this is all over, the American people will unite - Republicans and Democrats alike and set up some basic qualifications for running for the Presidency of our country. there is a lot of common ground to agree on but this is not where America should be.
8
The first change needs to be that all candidates planning to run for national office must first complete a Federal security clearance screening.
Any potential candidate for national office who is unable to pass a minimum Federal security clearance screening should not be allowed to run for national office.
The results of the screenings for those who do pass should be made public.
That will help voters make informed decisions based on facts before voting.
It is absurd that we do not have this in place already, especially for the offices of President and Vice President, who have access to the most sensitive top secret information in the land, and who are charged with making decisions that affect the lives of all Americans.
3
In the name of social cohesion, I have consistently argued against calls for impeachment. I believe it should never be merely a political tool, and it disturbs me when partisans of both sides casually bring it up when they are in opposition.
However, this would be a line in the sand, and if crossed, Americans should feel duty bound to impeach him.
1
I will remind all what Gerald Ford spent years telling people after he pardoned Nixon - although Nixon was only an "un-indicted co-conspirator" in Watergate: acceptance of a pardon is an admission of guilt. You cannot be "pardoned" for something you didn't do. And the Supreme Court agrees:
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/236/79/
1
Would the President pardon himself before any criminal prosecution ended? Is that what Gerald Ford did for Mr. Nixon? Or would the President roll the dice to see what crimes he was found guilty. The President doesn't have a lot of luck when it comes to the judiciary. Of course, after his conviction(s), the President could remain President until an impeachment proceeding removed him from office. Good luck Mr. President.
One tweet that takes less than 10 seconds to send and the "progressive" media goes crazy for the next several days. Great return on investment! No wonder Trump is a billionaire.
I have never seen proof he is a billionaire. I know he has lied a thousand times since, but where are the tax returns?
6
What is Mr. Trump and Mr. Giuliani's legal authority for making this assertion? The Constitution does not expressly grant the President the right to pardon herself. I understand there could be an implied argument, but it certainly has some ambiguity. Has any Governor exercised this power, just for persuasive authority (and I do recognize that State Constitutions differ from the Federal Constitution which may make it irrelevant.) I'm unaware of any prior US President pardoning one's self (not that many needed to). Does Mr. Trump realize that a pardon is construed as a legal admission of wrongdoing, and simply an avoidance of consequences?
3
We have allowed the US presidency to amass too much power. It's been a slow but deliberate process orchestrated by both parties. Compound this by an uninformed and complacent electorate and we end up with people like Trump. I'd like to think that Trump will be the last but I worry that others will soon come to replace him and prove me wrong.
If Trump resigns or gets removed, look at his replacement. Ouch!
If Trump continues to on his road to autocracy and succeeds, will the stage be set for a military coup or civil war?
4
Mr. Trump and his team are filling sandbags before the flood hits. If (when?) subpoenas and/or indictments start to fall, the Trump lawyers will refer back to these oh-so-dubious assertions (as if somehow saying it will make it so), but maybe more crucially, they will have already given the Trump Base its talking points. Or maybe they've seen advance copies of Sean Hannity's scripts. The president should be reminded that no one is above the law, and that even the thought of a president pardoning himself makes a mockery of the Constitution, which he pledged to uphold and defend. It is a mockery of justice. It is a mockery of 900 years of English and American law. It would be the prerogative of a king who claims divine right, a la Louis XIV. This morning's Tweet is un-American to its core.
1
Mr. Trump forgets he is president and not king. His legal interpretations are being influenced by lawyers trying to "fog mens' minds" and clutter the thinking about law and its meaning to our democracy. He was elected by the people(somewhat questionably) and must remember he is under the same law that governs us all.
1
Hmmm, I thought that the notion of the "Divine Right of Kings" ended well before the American colonies broke from the "Ancien Regime"! Trump should exercise caution, lest the old remedies against oppressive reigns return to haunt him".
6
The headline on this piece is, "Trump Says Appointment of Special Counsel is ‘Totally Unconstitutional’", but I don't remember Trump saying anything like that. No, rather, it was yet another in a long string of tweet-lies that he has issued since his inauguration.
I know that 100 years ago, at the start of this administration, Sean Spicer said that Trump's tweets are White House statements, but are they? Do they really need to be covered as such?
I would like to see the media take a one-week moratorium on acknowledging Trump's Twitter output, and make him actually make statements to the American people where we can see him and hear him and judge for ourselves whether what he says is the truth or not.
The Twitter Presidency has become more and more tiresome as time goes on. It is an insult to the people that didn't vote for him, don't follow him on Twitter, or like myself, don't use Twitter at all. He has claimed, although not recently, to represent ALL Americans, yet the twittering seems to tell a different story.
1
As bad as Trump is for our country, I believe forcing him out would be worse. Aside from being divisive in the extreme, the net effect would be to trade an dishonest but ineffectual poltroon for a more presentable bigot who would likely be more effective at both social and economic repression, especially working with a Congress that's run by a party with no moral compass whatsoever. We need to be careful what we ask for, let we get it.
1
Our US Constitution has generally served our country well. However, the current uncertainties about the limits of presidential power have highlighted the inherent paradox of fully incorporating the Department of Justice (DOJ) into the Executive Branch.
The limits of the President to influence the DOJ is not encoded in the Constitution - or even well defined in current federal laws. It has become evident that new laws, passed by Congress, are urgently needed to protect the independence of the DOJ from the overreach of presidential interference.
Furthermore, a fresh amendment to the Constitution - codifying the precise role of the DOJ within the governmental structure - would ensure a lasting solution to this dilemma, and reduce the future likelihood of a constitutional crisis!
4
Despotism is a country or political system where the ruler holds absolute power. This is the vision of the presidency just laid out by the President and his legal team. Absolute power to do whatever he wants, including murder, and legally pardon himself; without consequence, save should there be enough votes in Congress to impeach him. But would not such a despot be free and sanctioned to simply dismiss, discharge, or eliminate those who oppose him?
Mr. Jefferson said in his notes on the State of Virginia, "An elective despotism was not the government we fought for; but one which should not only be founded on free principles, but in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among several bodies of magistracy, as that no one could transcend their legal limits, without being effectually checked and restrained by the others. For this reason that convention, which passed the ordinance of government, laid its foundation on this basis, that the legislative, executive and judiciary department should be separate and distinct, so that no person should exercise the powers of more than one of them at the same time."
2
It is telling and disturbing that the broader discussion concerns the extent of executive powers based on anticipated yet still hypothetical situations. A president pardoning himself and indicting a sitting president are two such matters not addressed directly in either the Constitution or by established case law. A third would be the ability of a president to shut down an ongoing investigation in which he potentially is a target. As painful as it would be for the country, perhaps the special counsel ought to upgrade Trump’s investigative status from subject to target. That would make any pardons issued by Trump to his confederates (or himself) clear obstructions of justice that would be tested in court. Furthermore, if the special counsel has sufficient evidence to bring an indictment against Trump then he should do so. We simply must establish the Constitutional boundaries for a president’s authority and the sooner the better, especially with Congress sitting idly by. In the process, I suspect that many of us would find ourselves becoming strict constructionists with respect to these matters.
3
The fact that Mr. Trump feels the need to make such a statement is quite a strong indication of guilt.
5
George Lucas needs to pen a pre-pre-prequel to his Star Wars saga. The Empire surely begins with Trump and the "Dark Side." Thankfully, he only thinks he has the "Force." So far.
1
I cannot believe the evangelical community accepts the idea that a man can pardon himself from any sin or crime. Trump seems to think he exists on a level beyond any judgment other than his own. If pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall, the future here looks grim for Trump and company.
1
In judicial case, we should not look who is Trump supporter or who is against Trump, who is on right or left or look into poll numbers. We should look what is right and what is wrong, who is guilty and who is innocent. Trump knows and thinks that he will be proven guilty by special counsel . That is the reason he and his lawyers are talking about presidential pardon. We never had precedent that a president pardoned himself . Let us wait and see. Whatever the case justice should prevail.
Forgive me for repeating myself:
Over the years, I have not believed in Constitutional Amendments; the last amendment was in 1992 when states supported the amendment to limit Congresses ability to grant themselves pay raises.
My reason is that once we start actively changing the Constitution, we risk Amendments taking on the nature of today's legislation - politically based, not nation based.
But today, I am ready for several Amendments.
28th Amendment: to reduce the powers of a president in that a president should not have the power to over-rule law in his or others' favor and should not be held harmless because of his "role." Even a president is accountable to the laws of our nation.
29th Amendment: to block a president from reneging on international agreements without the backing of Congress - a 2/3rds or a super majority vote.
30th Amendment: to require all presidential and congressional legislative candidates to release at least 10 years of tax records and, if elected, to divest or establish blind trusts for all existing business interests and stock positions during their time in office. This includes disallowing an office holder to initiate any new business interests while in office.
I'm sure there are other practices that are considered unscrupulous in the eyes of a civil society, but those are the ones at the top of my list.
5
We need to make clear to the Supreme Court that:
Corporations are Not People and Money is Not Speech.
2
If Trump hasn't done anything wrong, then why does he need pardoning? Every time Trump tries to stop the investigation it just makes it clearer that there is "something wrong" there. And it doesn't help that every time a story comes out, that Trump and his Administration lies over and over again.
5
Dear Trump
You can say whatever you want.
Whether you can or not is a legal issue.
You can't control the law.
1
Can Trump pardon himself? I don't think we will ever know the answer to that question because he will never do it. It would be political suicide as it would likely trigger impeachment and would realty hurt his chances of getting reelected in 2020 - which he is on a smooth path towards. This was just a common form of legal reasoning made by his lawyers to debunk the obstruction of justice claims - an argument that the "greater includes the lesser" , i.e. the greater power (to Pardon everyone) also includes the lesser power to interfere and obstruct. Instead, the argument makes everyone's head explode!
The real story here is the argument that Muller's appointment is unconstitutional. It is unconstitutional and here is why. It violates the Appointments Clause of Article 2 of the constitution. Every single U.S. attorney (and every executive branch principal officer) has to be appointed by the Pres. and confirmed by the Senate. Mueller functions much like a U.S. attorney. He prosecutes bank crimes, obstruction of justice, and lots of different kinds of cases. But, he has no accountability to the political branches of government.
As a result, we see gestappo tactics, breaking down doors, no knock search warrants, raiding offices of lawyers, and pressuring others to "flip" by charging them with anything they can think of.
All Americans, regardless of party affiliation, must come together and denounce this behavior. Its time for the liberals to be liberal again.
No knock search warrants, knocking down doors, raiding offices of lawyers, and pressuring others to flip, are all policies that have been demanded by Republicans for a long time. And it is Republican judges threat keep declaring them constitutional.
As usual, Republicans want one law for minorities and no law for themselves.
1
Taken to its ultimate absurdity (one hopes it is an absurd fantasy), Trump could schedule daily firing squads to do away with any and all dissenters or critics...and remain untouchable. If Trump does away with the Mueller probe, I hope there is or are members of Mueller's staff who will ignore their non-disclosure agreements and give us the truth.
1
Guiliani says Trump cannot be indicted no matter what he does, and Trump says he can pardon himself but has done nothing wrong. I wish the Trump gang would put this to the test by admitting that he has cheated on his taxes for years, and then pardons himself (and keeps the money). Good luck with that strategy.
1
If the President has the right to determine what is legal and what is not, to pardon anybody he feels like pardoning and say to the world that he is above the law, we are no longer a democracy. Impeachment hearings should start now, not after he has done what he said he would do.
"I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong?"
I have faith in you, Mr. President. You'll come up with something.
6
So, is Trump saying if he lost the next election for President, he could personally kill the President elect, pardon himself and keep on as President?
11
Pretty much.
Don't forget this is also the President who after China recently eliminated term limits for their president said, 'Maybe we'll give that a shot someday'
He said he was just joking at the time. But, ask any comedian: any good joke has an underlying truth.
3
If he's innocent there should be no reason for a "rational" person to even think let alone act upon pardon discussions. Trump knows he's guilty of many crimes and is looking for relief.
1
There have been many rulers who believed the same thing. Their story doesn’t end well.
9
It is unnerving to hear the adviser to an American president say he can legally commit murder and not face punishment.
It is even more unnerving to hear an American president say that he is above the law upon which this country was founded.
Just when I think that the current president can't say anything crazier, he always does. The question is: how far will he go to put his words into action?
9
At what point will have gone too far going too far?
I mean, even before he took office, he went too far on numerous occasions and since he has just gone further.
When reading his tweets it is almost impossible to understand that they come from a man that is leading the most powerful nation in the world, a man that is in power of weapons enough to destroy everything, a man who has a huge influence of many nations both near and far from his own.
Instead, they look like something that would come from the guy just fired from the docks sitting alone in a corner of a pub and drunkenly spill out his bitterness to everyone unfortunate enough to be close to him.
But if Trump is totally innocent of all crimes, as he claims, why does he need to talk about a pardon?
2
I'm quite sure he pardons himself many times a day. He feels very good doing that. This is now the glorious apotheosis and full realization and ultimate confirmation of what he has known, all along.
1
Trump hasn't a clue what's in the Constitution. For him to declare that the Russia investigation is "unconstitutional" is a joke.
He's violated his oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, and if the Republican party doesn't start to check this president they too will be in violation of their oaths.
2
Hypothetically, suppose you were Trump and you knew neither you nor members of your admin colluded illegally with Russia regarding the election. Also assume their was strong evidence the investigation was started under false pretenses and this was supported by texts showing extreme bias, and high level FBI people fired for lying or redeployed. Suppose there were FISA abuses including covert surveillance and unmasking. Suppose their were inconsistent stories from high ranking intelligence people. Finally suppose you, as President believe that the investigation was initiated using false or fabricated evidence for the purpose of ultimately getting you impeached and impeding your ability to carry out the agenda you were elected to execute. Suppose you had seen only non-Rusian/ American election indictments furthet suggesting the real purpose had nothing to do with the stated purpose.
If you assume all of the above, wouldn't you be serving your country by pardoning yourself so the election result does not get altered by your getting caught in a purjery trap or by other trickery? I doubt Trump has any intention of pardoning himself in part because pardons do not apply to impeachment. However his tweet raises some interesting thoughts.
I don't know which of any of the assumptions are true.