Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News

Drudge Retort

User Info

fedupwithpols

Subscribe to fedupwithpols's blog Subscribe

Menu

Special Features

Wednesday, May 03, 2023

Now that the criminal justice system has begun bringing charges against former President Donald Trump, it's only a matter of time before he gets convicted of something, somewhere. read more


Sunday, April 09, 2023

President Joe Biden's recent approval of the Willow Project in Alaska has alarmed many young people and once again made us question his seriousness about addressing the climate crisis before it is too late. His decision to greenlight ConocoPhillips' massive oil project isn't just a betrayal of his promises on the campaign trail when he vowed to halt drilling on federal lands and to help the United States make the transition toward clean energy. It's a betrayal of our generation's future and of the millions of people suffering the impact of the climate crisis. read more


Friday, March 31, 2023

Former President Donald Trump will not accept a plea deal in the indictment brought by a Manhattan grand jury but does plan to file "substantial legal challenges" to the indictment, his attorney Joe Tacopina said. "President Trump will not take a plea deal in this case. It's not gonna happen," Tacopina said in an interview with NBC News on Friday. read more


Wednesday, March 29, 2023

As Fox News faces legal peril over its coverage of Donald Trump's 2020 election lies, one of its most featured Republicans, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, is trying to gut the free speech protections that may ultimately save the network from financial ruin. read more


Saturday, March 18, 2023

Former President Donald Trump said he expects to be arrested Tuesday in connection with an investigation conducted by the Manhattan District Attorney's office and is calling for protests ahead of his possible indictment. "THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!" he wrote on Truth Social Saturday morning. read more


Comments

No court has yet considered the question of whether presidents can pardon themselves, even for crimes committed in the Oval Office. Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution states of impeachment, which is the most apparent remedy for presidential wrongdoing in office, that "the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to law." Given that impeachments cannot be pardoned under Article II, the impeachment language " which makes former presidents subject to the criminal laws for impeachable conduct " could be read to suggest that crimes related to impeachments cannot be pardoned, either. Trump was impeached for his role in Jan. 6, with the House of Representatives charging him with "incitement of insurrection" against the U.S. government and "lawless action at the Capitol." Arguably, then, any crimes arising from the same conduct would be immune from a self-pardon.

My first reading of this suggested that Trump could not be pardoned for impeachable offenses because he was impeached. However the wording ... the party convicted ... suggests that he would have had to be convicted by the Senate to preclude him from receiving a pardon.

In addition, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment holds that "[n]o person shall . . . hold any office, civil or military, under the United States . . . who, having previously taken an oath . . . to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof." If Smith's grand jury indicts Trump under the section of federal sedition law which provides that "[w]hoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto . . . shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States," a self-pardon would clash with the Supreme Court's longstanding recognition, discussed below, that pardons cannot undermine other parts of the Constitution.

This suggests that Smith has to charge and convict Trump of crimes outlined in Section 3 of the 14th amendment.

If Trump were ever re-elected POTUS, you can bet he would attempt a self pardon if he hasn't issued a secret pardon of himself prior to leaving office. If he did issue himself a "pocket" pardon, he would reveal it if Smith obtains a conviction. Then there would be another round of litigation as to the constitutionality of the pardon.

In any event, what's stopping Trump from proclaiming that he issued himself a pardon? Does a "pocket" pardon need a timestamp to prove that it was issued while he was still POTUS?

Drudge Retort
 

Home | Breaking News | Comments | User Blogs | Stats | Back Page | RSS Feed | RSS Spec | DMCA Compliance | Privacy | Copyright 2023 World Readable