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Donald Trump is expected to issue more than 100 presidential pardons on Tuesday, in his final hours in the White House, but cannot forgive himself or his immediate family, it was reported Monday.
White House officials said Trump had debated privately with aides over whether he should make the extraordinary decision to forgive himself. Some administration insiders have reportedly warned against self-forgiveness, arguing that it would make Trump appear to be guilty.
Trump met with his son-in-law Jared Kushner, daughter Ivanka Trump and senior advisers on Sunday to discuss a long list of pardon requests, the Washington Post reported. The meeting took up a good part of the day. The president was personally engaged in the details of each case, he said.
Some researchers believe that a self-pardon would go against the US constitution because it violates the basic principle that no one should be able to judge their own case. But the problem has never been tested.
The White House talks took place against the backdrop of a looming Senate impeachment trial against Trump, after a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building on January 6. If found guilty, Trump could be disqualified from running for president again in 2024.
Out of office, Trump will also be vulnerable to legal action by federal and state authorities for his actions in power and regarding his business empire.
It is not clear whether Trump will act to forgive members of his inner circle. These include Steve Bannon, who has been accused of defrauding individuals who donated to a proposed US-Mexico border wall. Another possible name is Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, who led the attempts to overturn the November election result. Trump and Giuliani have reportedly recently argued over unpaid legal bills.
CNN reported on Monday that the latest round of clemency actions are expected to include pardons focused on criminal justice reform as well as more controversial pardons for political allies and friends. Lobbyists have been pushing for months to include their clients on Trump’s voters list.
“Everything is a transaction. He likes forgiveness because it’s one-sided. And he likes to do people he thinks he owes favors to him, ”a source familiar with the matter told CNN, adding that Trump wanted to help people who could in turn help him with his career after the White House.
Dr Salomon Melgen, a prominent Palm Beach ophthalmologist who is in jail after being convicted of dozens of charges of healthcare fraud, is expected to be on the leniency list, CNN said.
Presidential pardons do not imply innocence – a fact President Gerald Ford clung to in the face of lasting opprobrium for his pardon to Richard Nixon, his predecessor who resigned in disgrace in 1974 because of the Watergate scandal .
Last resort pardons and acts of mercy are common at the end of presidencies. Infamously, in 2001 Bill Clinton pardoned runaway financier Marc Rich on his last day in the White House.
The New York Times on Sunday reported intensive lobbying for pardons as the Trump era drew to a close. Among the startling details, an unnamed Giuliani associate allegedly told a former CIA officer that a pardon “was going to cost $ 2 million”.
Participants in the Capitol Riot appealed directly – via television or their lawyers – for Trump’s pardon. On Sunday, Senator Lindsey Graham, a key Trump ally, appealed directly to the president, telling him not to forgive anyone associated with the attack.
“There are a lot of people urging the president to forgive the people who participated in the desecration of the Capitol, the rioters,” he told Fox Business.
“I don’t care if you went over there and spilled flowers on the ground. You violated Capitol security. You interrupted a joint session of Congress. You tried to intimidate us all. You should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and asking for forgiveness from these people would be a mistake. I think it would destroy President Trump, and I hope we don’t go down that route.
Trump has already granted pardons to 94 people, most of them prominent figures involved in Special Prosecutor’s Robert Mueller investigation into conspiracy with Russia. They include former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, longtime pal Roger Stone and former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who admitted to lying to the FBI.
U.S. news agencies have said leniency is due to be issued Tuesday on Trump’s last full day in power. Skipping President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, Trump leaves Wednesday morning to begin his post-presidency at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. His presidency ends at noon on Wednesday.
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