A reporter asked Ted Cruz if Trump can actually pardon himself. Cruz's answer is pretty awkward.

Sen. Ted Cruz fields a constitutional law question
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

If you give him a chance, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) — a former Texas solicitor general and, as his former Harvard Law professors Alan Dershowitz and Lawrence Tribe will attest, a brilliant constitutional law student — will tell you that he has argued before the Supreme Court nine times. According to his campaign site, Cruz "is dedicated to upholding the rule of law and preserving the Constitution." But if you ask him, as The Weekly Standard's Haley Byrd did on Monday, if the president of the United States has the legal right to pardon himself, as Trump claims, Cruz might wait a full, awkward 18 seconds to tell you that "this is not a constitutional issue I've studied, so I will withhold judgment at this point."

See more

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.