For the past several weeks Donald Trump’s TV lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has assumed the role of saying idiotic things that put the President in deeper legal peril. Now it appears that Trump was not sufficiently satisfied with Giuliani’s efforts, so he has taken over that role himself.
In a series of tweets that mainly demonstrate his fear and guilty conscience, Trump has explicitly made the case for his inevitable prosecution and impeachment. Of course, he doesn’t have any idea what he actually said or what the consequences will be, but he’s typically adamant about what he’s painfully ignorant of. In a tweet that blows up his whole claim of innocence, Trump said this:
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? In the meantime, the never ending Witch Hunt, led by 13 very Angry and Conflicted Democrats (& others) continues into the mid-terms!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2018
Trump could not be more wrong. Most legal scholars agree that there is nothing in the Constitution or case law that permits a president to pardon himself. In fact, it flies in the face of the Founders insistence that the United States is a government of laws, not men (John Adams, 1780), and that no one is above the law. The ability to self-pardon would empower a president to evade accountability for any criminal act. It’s the doctrine of dictators and tyrants.
More importantly with regard to Trump, the acceptance of a pardon is, under the law, an admission of guilt. In the Supreme Court’s decision of Burdick v. U S, the Court said unambiguously that “…a pardon […] carries an imputation of guilt; acceptance a confession of it.” Therefore, if Trump were to issue a pardon to himself it would also serve as his confession to the underlying crimes.
No matter what one’s opinion of the validity of the pardon, it would be unarguable that the President was accepting as truthful the charges against him. And by doing so he would be making himself subject to impeachment. The severity of a legal breach that warranted a pardon could not be excused under the “high crimes and misdemeanors” standard for removing a president from office. And a responsible Congress that respects the Constitution would have no choice but to impeach. Unfortunately, that may not describe the present make up of the Republican suck-ups currently holding the congressional majority.
In addition to Trump’s tweet assuming presidential authority to evade the law, he also tweeted something that illustrates how poorly he understands the law:
The appointment of the Special Counsel is totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL! Despite that, we play the game because I, unlike the Democrats, have done nothing wrong!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2018
It would be interesting if someone could ask Trump exactly what constitutional clause he is citing. Because there isn’t actually any language in the Constitution that supports his claim. And if there were it would just raise additional questions. For instance, if he believes that the appointment of a special counsel is unconstitutional, then why did he himself ask for the appointment of one to investigate Hillary Clinton? And why did he ask that Robert Mueller’s team expand their jurisdiction to include Democrats?
Even more curious is that Trump would allow his Justice Department to proceed with a process he now asserts is against the law? That, in itself, would be grounds for impeachment as a violation of his oath to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.” And his characterization of this being merely a game he is playing is a disgraceful insult to American principles of justice.
How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.
Trump clearly has no respect for the law or the Constitution he so cavalierly references. He doesn’t bother to educate himself about the legal matters he puts into the public debate. He is oblivious to his hypocrisy in how he would enforce the laws that he doesn’t understand. And all of that is wrapped in his brazenly ego-driven self-interest. It’s the perspective of a wannabe dictator who is frustrated by the constraints on absolute power articulated in the Constitution that he plainly despises.
And to add a little more to your insightful article, since trump wants to be an anti-American, anti-Democracy, anti-U.S. Constitution “dictator” which will not happen without a total civil war, he needs to resign, step down, abdicate the office or whatever, because 2/3 of this country will not sit quietly by while he rips up the Constitution, takes this country into total chaos with him as the crazy racist king.