
Can President Donald Trump wield the power of the pardon to protect himself? This is a question readers have asked us, so we asked legal scholars about a range of scenarios.
Trump himself has asserted that doing so would be legal, although as he raised the possibility, he added that he wouldn’t need to, because he believed he had no legal worries.
"As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong?" Trump tweeted on June 24, 2018.
Rudy Giuliani, a legal adviser to Trump, also pointed to the possible use of a self-pardon in 2018. Giuliani said Trump "probably does" have the power to pardon himself, though he said Trump had no intention of doing so.