No pardon for TrumpIn the wake of yesterday’s breach of the Capitol, Vice President Mike Pence should clearly state that he will not grant a pardon to President Trump if Trump resigns before the inaugural of President-elect Joe Biden.
In a column in November, I predicted Trump would resign, and Pence would pardon him. I continue to believe that this was exactly Trump’s plan — and that it is possible the president’s recent tensions with Pence might be related.
While Trump has a long history of accusing political opponents of crimes including treason, his conduct since the day after the 2020 election may well qualify as sedition, according to some legal experts. While this case would have to be proven under due process of law, it should be unpardonable as a matter of patriotism and principle.
If a president could constitutionally pardon himself, that president would be literally above the law. He could in theory commit any federal crime and pardon himself afterward. The power of a presidential self-pardon would make that president an effective monarch, a dictator, a despot — something the Founding Fathers would never have accepted or intended.
There is a distinct difference between a presidential pardon by Pence and a presidential self-pardon by Trump. While in either case a pardoned Trump could be subpoenaed to testify under oath with no defense of self-incrimination, in a Pence pardon, the courts would rule that previous potential crimes before the pardon could not be prosecuted. In a self-pardon, crimes prior to the pardon could be prosecuted if the Supreme Court rules that a self-pardon is invalid.
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https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/533143-no-pardon-for-trump
