Barrett declines to say if Trump can pardon himself
By Jordain Carney - 10/13/20 06:06 PM EDT
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett declined to say on Tuesday if President Trump can pardon himself or if he should be required to disclose his debts.
"That would be a legal question. That would be a Constitutional question and so in keeping with my obligation not to give hints, previews or forecasts of how I would resolve the case that's not one I can answer," Barrett told Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who asked if she believed Trump is able to pardon himself for any past or future crimes.
Trump said in 2018 that he had an "absolute right" to pardon himself, a statement that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and then-House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) distanced themselves from at the time.
At the time of Trump's tweet, the investigation into his 2016 presidential election campaign and Russia's election interference was still ongoing.
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https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/520892-barrett-declines-to-say-if-trump-can-pardon-himself