Rudy Giuliani: Trump ‘probably’ has the power to pardon himself

Rudy Giuliani told ABC News global anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday that the president “probably does” have the ability to pardon himself.

As Axios reported, Russian Federation investigation Special Counsel Robert Mueller is believed to have Trump under investigation for possible obstruction of justice, particularly for Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey in May of 2017.

Trump has not yet tweeted this morning about Giuliani’s other headline-grabbing weekend talking point: that Trump could have shot former FBI director James Comey to end the Russian Federation investigation and not face prosecution for it while president.

“The Department of Justice is a creature of the president”, Giuliani said.

“I think if the president decided that he was going to pardon himself, I think that it is nearly self-executing impeachment”, he said, adding that the framers did not intend for a president to be able to self-pardon. “And it would lead to probably an immediate impeachment”.

In a letter to Mueller, Trump’s lawyers argued he could not obstruct justice. The Times notes no president has ever pardoned himself.

Preet Bharara, who was sacked by Trump, told CNN’s “State of the Union” that a self-pardon would be “outrageous”. “Pardoning other people is one thing, pardoning yourself is tough”. The memo also hinted that the president could have the power to pardon himself if convicted of wrongdoing. “I don’t think a president should pardon themselves”.

The question of whether a president can self-pardon has always been a “parlor game” among scholars, said Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University Law School.

Clinton didn’t answer all of their questions and they had a second subpoena ready to go but ultimately didn’t use it, Wisenberg said.

The president on Thursday pardoned conservative commentator and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, who pleaded guilty in 2014 to US campaign finance law violations.

“That has been something of a parlor game for constitutional scholars for years, and numerous fun hypotheticals that we used to enjoy over beers all seem to be coming to fruition under the Trump administration”, Turley said. Mr. Trump’s legal team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The legal assertions made in the letter, which constitutional experts say raise novel issues, likely will be tested in court if Trump declines an interview, Mueller issues a subpoena and a legal battle ensues.

In this May 5, 2018, file photo, Rudy Giuliani, an attorney for President Donald Trump, speaks at the Iran Freedom Convention for Human Rights and democracy in Washington. Could the president stop an investigation of himself, if not directly then by firing as many Justice Department officials as it takes until he finds one who will do it for him?

The memo further argued that the president can terminate any investigation without obstructing justice.