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Pardon me?

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26 November 2020 / Michael Zander KC
Issue: 7912 / Categories: Opinion , Immigration & asylum , Constitutional law
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Can President Trump lawfully pardon himself? Michael Zander on a very live question

Joe Biden is to be sworn in as President of the United States on Wednesday 20 January 2021. On that day, whether he graces the occasion with his presence or not, Mr Trump will become liable to criminal prosecution like any other citizen. Could he pardon himself before that fell day? The question sounds like an Alice-in-Wonderland absurdity.

The US Constitution states that the president ‘shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment’. (Art 2, s 2, cl 1). The phrase ‘offences against the United States’ means federal crimes. A pardon could therefore not affect the criminal tax fraud cases currently under investigation by Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus Vance or civil fraud cases against President Trump currently under investigation by New York Attorney General, Letitia James.

Since no previous US president has exercised the power, the question whether a self-pardon is lawful has never yet been considered by

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