by Making it official. Absolute power, that is. I remind you of this history [of Richard Nixon] because over the weekend, The New York Timespublished a letter from President Trump's lawyers to special counsel Robert Mueller, which includes this stunning passage: It remains our position that the President's actions here, by virtue of his position as the chief law enforcement officer, could neither constitutionally nor legally constitute obstruction because that would amount to him obstructing himself, and that he could, if he wished, terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon if he so desired. To clarify, they're asserting that no matter what the president does, by definition he cannot be guilty of obstruction of justice, because he's the president.… The entire last year
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Mike Norman considers the following as important: authoritarianism, US Politics
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Making it official. Absolute power, that is.
I remind you of this history [of Richard Nixon] because over the weekend, The New York Timespublished a letter from President Trump's lawyers to special counsel Robert Mueller, which includes this stunning passage:
It remains our position that the President's actions here, by virtue of his position as the chief law enforcement officer, could neither constitutionally nor legally constitute obstruction because that would amount to him obstructing himself, and that he could, if he wished, terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon if he so desired.To clarify, they're asserting that no matter what the president does, by definition he cannot be guilty of obstruction of justice, because he's the president.…
The entire last year and a half has been leading to the point at which Donald Trump proclaims that he is above the law, and dares us to do anything about it.So there. What you going to do about it?
This would otherwise be a curiosity, being a counterfactual, but it is particularly relevant presently in light of discussion indicating that if the Democrats take House in the fall midterm election, Trump will be impeached — more importantly, it appears that there are the votes in the Senate to convict and remove him from office.
Obviously, DJT knows this and will be pulling out all the plugs to make sure that the Democrats don't take back the House.
A key part of his strategy is to win a victory one trade, but that risks roiling the markets and depressing both the financial markets and the economy.
Stay tuned.
The American Prospect
Inevitably, Trump Declares He Is Above the Law
Paul Waldman
See also
However, as Bloomberg reporter Steven Dennis pointed out [on Twitter], that wasn't the case at the end of former President Richard Nixon's time in office. "Under the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case, the president cannot pardon himself," the Department of Justice declared in 1974. The DOJ spelled it out just four days before Nixon resigned, explaining that the president's pardoning power "does not extend to the president himself."The Week
The DOJ ruled 44 years ago that the president cannot pardon himself
Also
This morning, President Donald Trump tweeted that he “absolutely” had the power to pardon himself in the event that he is charged with obstructing justice in the investigation into Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election (or with anything else).VOX
Giuliani: Trump “probably” can pardon himself. Trump: I “absolutely” can pardon myself.
I won't post anymore links on this, since it has gone viral globally.