Republican lawmakers are pushing back against President Trump’s claim he could pardon himself, though nothing in the U.S. Constitution precludes the president from doing so.
The comments come after Mr. Trump’s attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani suggested over the weekend the president would have the authority to pardon himself of any charges linked to the Russia probe, though he won’t need to because he did nothing wrong.
Sen. Mike Lee, Utah Republican, said Tuesday a self-pardon would be “political malpractice.”
“It’s not a good idea politically,” he told Fox News.
Chairman of the Judiciary Committee Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, told CNN the president should hire a new lawyer if he’s getting legal advice about self-pardons.
Meanwhile, Sen. John Kennedy, Louisiana Republican, said there’s nothing in the Constitution on point about a president’s self-pardoning power.
“Let’s hope we don’t get there,” he added.
Mr. Trump tweeted Monday he had the “absolute right” to do so.
“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? In the meantime, the never ending Witch Hunt, led by 13 very Angry and Conflicted Democrats (& others) continues into the mid-terms!” the president said on Twitter.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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