Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday, Senator Rand Paul weighed in on the topic of President Trump potentially pardoning his family, his aides and even himself under the U.S. Constitution.
“I think, in all likelihood, he does,” Paul said during the interview, adding “I think that some of this hasn’t been adjudicated.”
Paul warned the President against following such a course of action.
“I think in a political sphere, I would caution someone to think about pardoning themselves or family members or et cetera,” said Paul.
The Washington Post reported last week that the President’s legal team is looking into the pardon authority in relation to the ongoing situation with the Russia collusion conspiracy theory.
However, Trump’s lawyer Jay Sekulow told ABC News that the issue has never even been discussed.
“The issue of pardons is not on the table. There’s nothing to pardon from,” Sekulow said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week”.
“We’re not researching it, I haven’t researched it because it’s not an issue were concerned with or dealing with.” he added.
The President himself sent out a tweet on Saturday saying that he has nothing to be pardoned for and that the report was more “FAKE NEWS”.
While all agree the U. S. President has the complete power to pardon, why think of that when only crime so far is LEAKS against us.FAKE NEWS
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2017
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer also weighed in on the topic, suggesting that if Trump pardoned anyone connected to the matter, it would constitute “greatest breaking of rule of law”.
“If he fired [Special Counsel Robert] Mueller or pardoned himself or someone close to him under investigation, it would be one of the greatest, greatest breaking of rule of law, of traditional democratic norms of what our democracy is about,” Schumer said.
“I think it would cause a cataclysm in Washington. I cannot imagine our Republican colleagues, including Ryan and Mitch McConnell just standing by if he were to do either of those things.” he added.
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