On Sunday, talk of the absurd was rampant. Rudy Giuliani told George Stephanopoulos on This Week President Donald Trump doesn’t intend to pardon himself.
Huh?
Is this really where we are?
However, Giuliani said, he “probably does” have the power to do just that.
Stephanopoulous was asking, of course, about the Russia probe, when the Trump attorney clarified the President’s intentions:
“He has no intention of pardoning himself…not to say he can’t.”
Uhhh…
Rudy contemplated to the ABC host:
“I think the political ramifications of that would be tough. Pardoning other people is one thing. Pardoning yourself is another.”
JUST IN: Does Pres. Trump have the power to pardon himself?
"He's not, but he probably does," Rudy Giuliani tells @GStephanopoulos. "He has no intention of pardoning himself, but that doesn't say he can't." https://t.co/IEUEWnjQqe #ThisWeek pic.twitter.com/IE1AocigYl
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 3, 2018
On NBC’s Meet the Press, Giuliani asserted the impact of such a move would be more than just “tough”:
“It’s not going to happen. … The president of the United States pardoning himself is unthinkable. … It would probably lead to immediate impeachment.”
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Ca., graced CNN’s State of the Union with this pearl of wisdom:
“I don’t think a president should pardon themselves.”
.@GOPLeader on whether President Trump has the power to pardon himself: "I don't think a President should pardon themselves." #CNNSOTU
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) June 3, 2018
Apparently, at issue on MTP was also the notion of Trump canceling the investigation altogether, which Giuliani humored:
“The Department of Justice is a creature of the President. I know based on presidential rulings…[the] Justice Department is given a certain amount of independence. I am tremendously in favor of it, but that’s all the President’s decision.”
WATCH: Could the president terminate any federal inquiry? “That is pretty clear"@RudyGiuliani: "It could lead to impeachment, if he terminated an investigation of himself” #MTP #IfItsSunday pic.twitter.com/Lfsh7Cndyp
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) June 3, 2018
Again: is this where we are? Why?
George Stephanopoulos asked, “Do you and the President’s attorneys believe he has the power to pardon himself?”
Donald Trump has impressed upon many that he possesses an audacious style. Nevertheless, it’s hard to imagine those in the media asking if the President may give himself a pardon, were he a Democrat, no matter how colorful. The Left has built up the real estate mogul as a mad political dictator, and the world an unwilling victim of his treacherous ways. By contrast, he is merely a single player in a team sport; the notion of him asserting monarchical control is ridiculous. So is, it seems to me, the idea of him giving himself a pardon … for — we should remember — something there is no evidence of him ever doing in the first place.
Surely, that is why Giuliani believes the investigation will be over soon, in addition to the factor of the coming midterms:
Giuliani tells @ThisWeekABC he still believes Mueller will wrap up probe by September 1.
"He's as sensitive as everybody to not doing another Comey and interfering horribly in the election." https://t.co/qHd6FpOTBx pic.twitter.com/RUPuPGklxC
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 3, 2018
Who knows if Giuliani is right; I hope he is. The probe seems to have lasted eons, unrelentingly dragging the American psyche with it. One thing, though, is certain: whether or not the inquiry ends, in the eyes of the left-wing media — from news to TV shows, from music to film — the investigation and, dare I say, incrimination, of Donald J. Trump will continue indefinitely.
ADDENDUM: As pointed out by a RedState reader in the Comments section below, discussion of whether Bill Clinton may pardon himself did arise in the late 90’s. Examples are here and here.
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