Barrett won't answer whether a president can pardon themself

Amy Coney Barrett.
(Image credit: Screenshot/CBS News on Twitter)

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett faced another day of Senate questioning on Wednesday, during which Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) asked some questions about how the court balances out the president. In particular, Leahy wondered how Barrett would feel about a president pardoning themself, given that President Trump has claimed he has that power.

"Does a president have an absolute right to pardon himself for a crime?" Leahy asked Wednesday. Much like she has for other questions, and as she did when Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) asked about self-pardoning on Tuesday, Barrett declined to give an answer. "So far as I know, that question has never been litigated," Barrett said, preventing her from answering because she could have to decide on it later.

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
Explore More
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
Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.