Donald Trump’s Pardon Power and the State of Exception
President Trump has been merciful lately. In April, he pardoned Scooter Libby, the former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney who was convicted of perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements in the investigation into the leaking of a CIA agent’s identity.
Published by The Lawfare Institute
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President Trump has been merciful lately. In April, he pardoned Scooter Libby, the former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney who was convicted of perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements in the investigation into the leaking of a CIA agent’s identity. In the past two weeks, he has granted pardons to deceased boxer Jack Johnson and right-wing political commentator Dinesh D’Souza and commuted the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson—a woman sentenced to life in prison for a nonviolent offense—apparently on the request of Kim Kardashian West.
Trump, however, has another target in mind for his grace. On Twitter last week, he took things a step further:
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
