• Can Trump Pardon Himself?
    37 replies, posted
[QUOTE=J!NX;52258399]I hope the Pres can't pardon the VP tbh that'd just be a little too much[/QUOTE] Hmm... Trump could pardon Pence, then resign, then Pence could pardon Trump (and then resign, to save the hassle of impeachment). It would technically work but honestly, at that point we'd just ignore both pardons, maybe rewrite the Constitution entirely because at that point, shit's fucked.
[QUOTE=TurtleeyFP;52257977]I think the possibility that he can try regardless raises another question - how far the Republican House & Senate have gone to defend him, I'm concerned he can [I]try[/I] whatever he wants, say "I was pre-emptively defending myself from the deep state", then have President Pence/Hatch grant the pardon anyway to save the GOP the destruction of helping a [I]proven[/I] criminal (all the difference from allegations, aka "fake news!!"). It would be unpopular as shit, there would be protests and moderate Rs would say "this is bad" but it's not like we'll raise a second impeachment just to get someone to undo the pardon. Even the Nixon pardon was hugely unpopular, but it only brought Ford's approval down to 50% and people forgot about it until election time. At first I would agree that they'd hold on to Trump to pass what they want then cut him loose, but the time for that shift was too long ago. I'm starting to get the impression they'll defend his legacy at any cost. Actually, even Nixon & cabinet seriously considered pardoning himself and then resigning. The next president would have to manually override the pardon which raises another shitstorm.[/QUOTE] I think the risk of him being pardoned [I]after[/I] impeachment is considerably higher than him attempting to pardon himself, yeah. As you say, though, it would be such a massively unpopular play. so, I should [I]hope[/I] the GOP would fear to use it.
[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;52258901]I think the risk of him being pardoned [I]after[/I] impeachment is considerably higher than him attempting to pardon himself, yeah. As you say, though, it would be such a massively unpopular play. so, I should [I]hope[/I] the GOP would fear to use it.[/QUOTE] Unfortunately, I don't think "fear" registers as long as they hold the majority. They seem pretty high off of hubris.
[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;52258901]I think the risk of him being pardoned [I]after[/I] impeachment is considerably higher than him attempting to pardon himself, yeah. As you say, though, it would be such a massively unpopular play. so, I should [I]hope[/I] the GOP would fear to use it.[/QUOTE] It worked last time. Ford's pardon of Nixon caused a massive dip in the polls, but it got Watergate out of the limelight and kept it from continuing to dominate the news. However, Nixon was an otherwise pretty popular president. Trump is not - they might want to drag it out, to push a message of Trump not being a Republican, and thus cut the anchor off their collective necks.
[QUOTE=gman003-main;52258967] However, Nixon was an otherwise pretty popular president. Trump is not - they might want to drag it out, to push a message of Trump not being a Republican, and thus cut the anchor off their collective necks.[/QUOTE] I wonder if the GOP thinks the total poll destruction of admitting to helping & defending a criminal all year would be worse than trying to score a Trump pardon (even if it's a self-pardon) and hope their voterbase files this whole situation under fake news. That's why I'm worried he'll try a self-pardon and it might be stupid enough to work. If he immediately resigns and Pence takes over, there's a good chance he'll uphold it.
[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;52258901]I think the risk of him being pardoned [I]after[/I] impeachment is considerably higher than him attempting to pardon himself, yeah. As you say, though, it would be such a massively unpopular play. so, I should [I]hope[/I] the GOP would fear to use it.[/QUOTE] They wouldn't be the least bit afraid to appeal to the Trump supporters once their demi-god has been shamefully removed from office by the "Deep State". As we've all seen in the past, the amount of brown-nosing the GOP is capable of knows no bounds.
[QUOTE=Lambeth;52258001]I feel like pardoning himself would be a bit of a conflict of interest?[/QUOTE] Isn't that kinda Trump in a nutshell though?
[QUOTE=Judas;52257900]Short answer: no[/QUOTE] Only if he farts.
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