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Trump's Desperate Move: Will He Pardon Himself in Mar-a-Lago Investigation?

A Dime Saved 3/30/2023 A Dime Saved

Donald Trump knew he was going to face obstacles in his campaign for 2024, but now even his ability to run is being challenged. Campaign group MoveOn created a petition in November that calls for government officials to disqualify Trump ... Read More

© A Dime Saved Donald Trump knew he was going to face obstacles in his campaign for 2024, but now even his ability to run is being challenged. Campaign group MoveOn created a petition in November that calls for government officials to disqualify Trump ... Read More

Ever since Trump’s special master was dismissed from the Mar-a-Lago investigation, federal investigators have been able to go through the documents found on Trump’s estate with no further interference.

Presidential Pocket Pardon

Because of the turn the investigation has taken, many are wondering if Trump will attempt to pardon himself from any wrongdoing using a pocket pardon.

Democratic activist Andrew Wortman placed his bets on Twitter as to whether or not Trump will attempt to wield this power.

“Going on record now and saying there is at least a 99 percent chance that Trump issued himself a pardon while he was still in office that he plans to pull out of his pocket and try to use as an actual get-out-of-jail-free card the moment he’s finally indicted/arrested (It will not work).”

Ron Filipkowski, a former federal prosecutor, has some questions as well.

How Does It Work?

Only federal convictions can be pardoned by a President. In Trump’s case, he could theoretically pardon himself since any indictments at this stage would be at the federal level.

Dr. Richard Johnson is a senior lecturer at Queen Mary University in London. He plays devil’s advocate with the situation and points out that arguments could be made for both sides.

“We may think it wrong for a president to be able to pardon himself, but we might also think it wrong that the president can pardon his brother (like Bill Clinton) or campaign supporters (like Donald Trump). Yet, simply because they are inappropriate or bad uses of the pardon power does not make them constitutionally impossible.”