Trump is preparing a list of pardons for participants and family members, and possibly himself

President Donald Trump has prepared a large list of people whom he hopes to forgive in the final days of his administration, which include senior White House officials, family members, prominent rappers and possibly even the same, according to people familiar with the subject.

Trump hopes to announce pardons on January 19 his last full day in office, and his ideas are currently being considered by senior advisers and the White House prosecutor’s office, the people said.

Perhaps the most important question for your legal team is whether the president has authority to forgive himself, as he has argued in recent weeks with his top advisers, according to people familiar with his conversations.

Never seen

Trump has claimed power before, although it is legal dispute and never before had a president tried.

Self-forgiveness could also turn out to be a big political responsibility and cripple another presidential candidacy, and opponents will surely suggest that self-forgiveness was tantamount to admitting that he thought it might. prosecuted for breaking the law.

Pre-trial pardons are being discussed for senior White House officials who have not been charged with crimes, including the chief of staff. Mark Meadows, the senior advisor Stephen miller, the chief of staff John McEntee and the director of social networks And Scavino.

The president’s eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner, who holds White House positions, are also under consideration, the people said. Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani also discussed the issue of forgiveness with the president.

Preventive pardons are also being considered for other members of the president’s family, as well as for friends and allies. For example, Trump granted a preventive pardon to Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former Fox News anchor who is dating her oldest son, Donald Trump Jr.

The president wants interim pardons to protect recipients from prosecution for any federal crimes committed before pardons are issued.

He also envisions a traditional pardon for Albert Pirro, who previously worked with the president on real estate transactions and was convicted of tax evasion. Pirro is the ex-husband of Fox News anchor Jeanine Pirro, a former Westchester County district attorney in New York City.

Celebrity Pardons Trump is also considering forgiving celebrities like rapper Lil Wayne, with whom he posed for a photo during the presidential campaign, as well as rapper Kodak Black, who is serving his sentence for falsify documents to get a firearm.

Other prominent celebrities including rapper Lil Yachty and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson have publicly pressured Trump to forgive Kodak Black, who said in a now-deleted tweet that he would give $ 1 million to charities if the President releases him.

Trump’s list is currently under review by lawyers who fear that pardons will lead to new accusations of obstruction of justice for members of the administration. The process is managed in part by White House lawyer Pat Cipollone. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

While some of the proposed pardons have gone through the necessary legal steps within the White House, the idea of ​​a self-pardon is much less developed, and so far this is only at the discussion stage.

Protegiendo a Trump

Self-forgiveness could prevent Trump from being sued for a lot of questions that their political opponents have suggested might be worthy of prosecution, as their tax returns federal income tax to silence payments to an adult movie star up to the expenses of your inaugural committee in places owned by the Trump family.

Some Democrats have continued to say that Trump should face a legal review of the Russian interference in the 2016 election, although Special Advocate Robert Mueller found no evidence that the president was colluding with the Kremlin.

And in recent days, Trump has come under scrutiny for his efforts to pressure the officials in Georgia to overturn the results of the presidential elections there, in addition to incite to what became a violent mob that stormed the United States Capitol on Wednesday.

A United States Capitol Police Officer deceased injuries he sustained “while physically interacting with protesters” during the riots, according to the department. The officer was the fifth person to be killed in the assault on the Capitol.

The legal debate

The Constitution states that a president “shall have the power to grant pardons and pardons for crimes against the United States, except in the event of impeachment.” Some consider that this expanding authority it’s absolute, although a 1974 Department of Justice legal opinion stated that “the president cannot forgive himself” because of what he described as “a basic rule that no one can be a judge in his or her own case “.

Brian Kalt, a Michigan State University law school professor who has written extensively on self-forgiveness, said it was not clear if the president could do it.

“The main argument for the power of automatic forgiveness is that the Constitution does not expressly exclude it and that the power of forgiveness is extremely expensive“, said.

“The argument against self-forgiveness begins with the idea that the granting of forgiveness is, by definition, something that can only be done for other personKalt said. “There is also a general principle in the law which prohibits being a judge in one’s own case.”

Ford and Nixon Trump would not be the first person to grant pardons, although action is rare. Gerald Ford did it for Richard Nixon just a month after his resignation over the Watergate scandal, granting him “total, free and absolute pardon” for the crimes he “has committed or may have committed or to which he has. participated “throughout his tenure as President.

Trump’s power to forgive extends only to federal crimes, which means you cannot protect yourself or your family from legal issues at the state level. New York Attorney General Letitia James has opened a civil investigation for fraud in the President’s affairs, while Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance is leading a criminal investigation.

Trump has already granted pardons to several political allies and friends, even in the weeks following his re-election.

Among those pardoned in recent days was Trump’s 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who had been convicted financial crimes and illegal lobbying, and Charles Kushner, the real estate developer and father of the president’s son-in-law. Brother Kushner was convicted of charges including preparing false income tax returns and reprisals by witnesses.

Bloomberg

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