Sean Hannity said Monday that President Trump should pardon himself and the rest of his relatives before a Democratic administration can pursue criminal charges against members of the first family.
Mr. Hannity made the suggestion during the conservative commentator’s radio show while speaking with Sidney Powell, a lawyer for retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser and now the recent recipient of a presidential pardon.
“I’m like, the president out the door needs to pardon his whole family and himself, because they want this witch hunt to go on in perpetuity,” Mr. Hannity said on his show.
“They’re so full of rage and insanity against the president,” he added.
Mr. Hannity, one of Mr. Trump’s staunchest allies in conservative media, subsequently proceeded to ask Ms. Powell if there are limits on who can receive a pardon from the president.
“It is absolute. It’s in the Constitution,” Ms. Powell said about the president’s authority to issue pardons.
“I don’t know about his authority to pardon himself, but it should not be necessary,” Ms. Powell added, explaining she believes he will remain in office after his term is set to expire soon.
Preliminary results of the recent presidential race found it was decisively won by Democratic candidate Joseph R. Biden, putting him on path to take Mr. Trump’s place in the White House next month.
Mr. Trump has refused to concede, however, and is challenging his projected loss in court. Ms. Powell was until recently a lawyer for his campaign and is now leading related litigation on her own.
Some of Mr. Trump’s allies have since called for him to stay on course. Rep. Matt Gaetz, Florida Republican, said Wednesday he should “wield that pardon power effectively and robustly,” for example.
More recently, The New York Times reported Tuesday that Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, allegedly discussed receiving a pardon from the president. Mr. Giuliani said that report is false.
Prosecutors have not unsealed any charges against Mr. Trump or members of his immediate family or Mr. Giuliani. Mr. Trump was investigated while in office and could face charges afterward.
Indeed, Mr. Hannity recommended Mr. Trump pardon himself and his family in light of Andrew Weissmann, a former prosecutor who investigated the president, recently saying that he should be prosecuted.
“As painful and hard as it may be for the country, I believe the next attorney general should investigate Mr. Trump and, if warranted, prosecute him for potential federal crimes,” Mr. Weissmann, who served under former special counsel Robert Mueller in his probe of the 2016 presidential election, wrote last week for The Times.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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