I can pardon myself, but have done nothing wrong: Trump
President Trump has done nothing wrong and therefore he doesn't need to pardon himself from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, White House said. This comes after Trump tweeted he has the "absolute right" to pardon himself, slamming the opposition Democratic party for the witch-hunt against him. He also alleged Mueller's appointment for investigating Russia's possible interference in the 2016 Presidential Elections is "unconstitutional".
I I have the absolute right to pardon myself: Trump
Trump's personal attorney feels the decision would be politically tough
It was the first time Trump asserted the power to pardon himself. A day earlier, Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said that the President does have the power to pardon himself, but that would be politically very tough. "I think the political ramifications of that would be tough. Pardoning other people is one thing. Pardoning yourself is another," Giuliani said.
Unlike the Democrats, I have done nothing wrong
Constitutional scholars say the decision of presidential self-pardon is unresolved
According to The Wall Street Journal, constitutional scholars say the question of presidential self-pardon remains unresolved. "It's an abuse of the pardon power for the president to self-pardon. It violates constitutional prohibitions on self-dealing, and to use the pardon power to eviscerate checks on the presidency, that's also an abuse of the pardon power," Gillian Metzger, a constitutional law scholar at Columbia University said.
Senator Schumer condemns Trump's tweet
Senate Minority Leader, Senator Chuck Schumer, slammed Trump's tweet, asserting that the President has no such power. "First, of course, no President has the power to pardon himself or herself. If they did, the presidency would function above and outside the law," Schumer said on the Senate floor on Monday. He added that if a President can pardon himself, it's virtually a monarchy.
