U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial use of his pardoning power could land him in some legal hot water and even lead to potential criminal charges, a legal expert claims.
In an op-ed for the Financial Times , Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe noted that Trump has handed out a number of “corrupt pardons.” As he wrote, this includes both ones that were given to people who have engaged in corruption — including Blackwater private military contractors pardoned after being convicted of killing Iraqi civilians — and others that place him above the law. Tribe said that this includes those given to close associates who may have helped to cover up crimes committed by Trump.
“Mr Trump’s grants of clemency to close advisers Paul Manafort and Roger Stone belong to a distinct and far more dangerous category,” he wrote.
“These pardons appear to be the latest steps taken which may in effect have hindered inquiries into crimes that Mr Trump’s close associates have been convicted of committing. Put plainly, these pardons could potentially amount to criminal obstruction of justice or bribery.”
As The Inquisitr reported, even some members of his own party have spoken out against his pardoning political allies. Sen. Ben Sasse criticized him for pardoning Manafort and Stone, saying that the actions were “rotten to the core.” He had also come under scrutiny for pardoning Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, who had been convicted on several counts of tax fraud.
Tribe went on to say that Trump may ultimately try to pardon himself to protect against prosecution and that the only way to limit this improper use in the future could be to prosecute a president who uses it in this way. Many others have speculated that Trump may ultimately try to use the power on himself, especially as he reportedly faces a number of civil and criminal investigations after leaving office and the de facto immunity that comes with the White House.
As The Inquisitr noted, some have also called on Joe Biden to reverse any pardon that Trump would give to himself, setting a precedent that a president cannot use the power on themselves in the future. Ken Gormley, an expert on the U.S. Constitution and president of Duquesne University, wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post that it would be important for Biden to “ take a stand against this dangerous precedent” and reverse any pardon Trump were to give to himself.
