Stephen Colbert helpfully turns Trump's claim to absolute legal impunity into a 2020 campaign slogan

Stephen Colbert on Trump claim of legal impunity
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Late Show)

Monday was the 500th day of President Trump's time in office, and Stephen Colbert said some congratulations are in order. "We've made it through the first trimester of his presidency," he said on Monday's Daily Show, "but for some reason, my nausea hasn't gone away." Also not going away? Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, he said, and Trump introduced a new legal wrinkle Monday, claiming the absolute power to pardon himself.

Colbert was skeptical but Trump's lawyers apparently agree, telling Mueller in a newly disclosed letter that the Constitution allows Trump to, "if he wished, terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon." That means "it's probably not going to happen," Colbert reasoned, "because if there's one thing Donald Trump won't do, it's exercise."

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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.