Donald Trump is master of pardons.
Will there be a special coup at the end of his term of office?
He could pardon himself using a special trick.
Donald Trump
could end his term in office
with a bang
after his
election defeat
- and pardon himself.
Legal experts in the USA disagree as to whether and how the president could do this.
Vice Mike Pence could play a role.
Munich - He can pardon this
Donald Trump
.
He has proven that often enough.
The current president of the USA has already reduced or canceled the sentences of no fewer than 94 people.
Most recently, there were again 15 people
who were partly in connection with Russia's interference in Trump's election victory, or four convicted murderers from the
Blackwater
company
who had killed civilians in Iraq.
At the very end, the crown of all pardons could follow:
Trump pardons Trump
.
Putin showed Trump how to do it - Russia's president is forever free from punishment
Is that possible?
It is speculated that as a
preventive measure
from indictment
, he could
pard
himself in advance after his presidency.
Not a new trick, by the way: Russian President
Vladimir Putin
has already been exempted from punishment for life.
Even
legal experts
in the USA cannot clearly answer the question of whether Trump is even allowed to do that.
Because: There has never been a case like this in the USA.
The
New York Times also
said there was "no definitive answer" to this.
The
Supreme Court
would be breaking new ground.
Watergate scandal 1974: Nixon was also suspected of wanting to pardon himself
A first step has at least already been taken for Trump: the
law has not yet explicitly prohibited it
.
However, some argue that the presidential pardons must necessarily be applied to other people to whom something is "granted" - not to themselves.
The discussion arose as early as 1974: After the Watergate scandal, the question floated in the press as to whether the then President
Richard Nixon
could get rid of impunity.
To date, there is no clearly clarified legal position on this.
And that Trump likes to break new ground should not come as a surprise to anyone after his turbulent presidency.
A special trick is also conceivable:
Trump could have himself declared incapacitated
, so that his vice
Mike Pence
Becomes president - who in turn could pardon him.
Other presidents also pardoned their predecessors - or their family members
Nixon's successor
Gerald
Ford also
expressed this to his predecessor.
However, even an all-encompassing pardon would only protect against federal charges.
In
New York
State
, Trump is already under investigation - for financial fraud and tax evasion.
Even with a general amnesty, he would not be able to avoid these charges.
Family members, on the other hand, can pardon Trump himself.
He has already used this
with his
son-in-law Jared Kushner
(who was already in jail for influencing witnesses and tax evasion).
This is nothing new in the States either: Democrat Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother Roger, who was incarcerated for cocaine offenses.
So how far does Trump go?
The past shows:
Usually further than anyone else.