Former President Trump was indicted earlier this week on 13 felony counts in Georgia in connection with an alleged attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Legal experts told Fox News Digital that Trump cannot pardon himself in this case, but the process of actually incarcerating him is a complicated one.
“The president…shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment,” Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution reads which John Malcolm, vice president for the Institute for Constitutional Government at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital likely prevents Trump from pardoning himself in Georgia.
“It seems to be pretty clear that he has plenary authority to pardon people for federal crimes, but not for state crimes,” Malcolm explained.
Prominent legal scholars, including George Washington University’s Jonathan Turley and former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy have made similar arguments to Malcolm’s and said that Trump cannot pardon himself in Georgia while others, including political commentator and attorney Mark Levin, have made the case that he can.
GEORGIA COURT CLERK ADMITS ‘MISHAP’ BEHIND ‘FICTITIOUS’ TRUMP INDICTMENT: ‘I AM HUMAN’
Levin argues that the Constitution is silent on whether a president can even be indicted and believes the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause holds that Trump’s federal authority takes precedence over state laws. Additionally, Levin says the Department of Justice’s position that a sitting president cannot be indicted on federal crimes because it would “cripple the executive branch” would also hold true for state crimes and indictments from local DAs.
Clark Neily, senior vice president for legal studies at the Cato Institute, told Fox News Digital that he does not envision a scenario where Trump could pardon himself on state crimes.
“I could see a court delay a proceeding, perhaps even delaying the imposition of a sentence to…
Read the full article here
