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


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."
According to the Nixon Justice Department, the president cannot, in fact, pardon himself — and in fact, if Trump and his lawyers were correct that he can neither be indicted nor barred from pardoning himself even if he committed cold-blooded, politically motivated murder, the president would be above the law, an idea that Cruz would probably not agree with. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told reporters on Monday that if he "were president of the United States and I had a lawyer that told me I could pardon myself, I think I would hire a new lawyer." Still, if we are using former President Richard Nixon as a precedent, nobody really disputes that President Mike Pence could pardon Trump.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

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.
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.
-
President Trump: ‘waging war’ on Chicago
Talking Point Federal agents are carrying out ‘increasingly aggressive’ immigration raids – but have sanctuary cities like Chicago brought it on themselves?
-
Sudoku medium: October 18, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Sudoku hard: October 18, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified files
Speed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DC
Speed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operations
Speed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rules
Speed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Act
speed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in Venezuela
Speed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
‘Vile, racist’ leaked chats roil Young Republicans
Speed Read Leaders of Young Republican groups made racist, antisemitic and violent comments in private chats
-
Trump ties $20B Argentina bailout to Milei votes
speed read Trump will boost Argentina’s economy — if the country’s right-wing president wins upcoming elections