Trump is reportedly polling aides on whether he should pardon himself
President Trump is considering pardoning himself during his final days in office, The New York Times reported Thursday.
Trump has reportedly toyed with the idea for some time now, but discussions apparently started anew shortly before the president was recorded pressuring Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" enough ballots to somehow swing the state's election in his favor. The talks also came before Trump encouraged his supporters to march to the Capitol on Wednesday, where hundreds broke into the building in an attempt to block Congress from certifying the presidential election results. "Trump allies believe that both episodes increased Mr. Trump's criminal exposure," writes the Times.
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.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone told Trump he could face legal exposure for telling his supporters to "fight" the election certification at the Capitol, reports the Times. The riot that followed left four people dead.
In addition to pardoning himself, Trump is also reportedly considering preemptive pardons for his eldest children and son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as attorney Rudy Giuliani.
The Times writes Trump has "become increasingly convinced that his perceived enemies will use the levers of law enforcement to target him after he leaves office." Read more at The New York Times.
-
Did Alex Pretti’s killing open a GOP rift on guns?Talking Points Second Amendment groups push back on the White House narrative
-
The 8 best hospital dramas of all timethe week recommends From wartime period pieces to of-the-moment procedurals, audiences never tire of watching doctors and nurses do their lifesaving thing
-
‘Implementing strengthened provisions help advance aviation safety’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
EU and India clinch trade pact amid US tariff warSpeed Read The agreement will slash tariffs on most goods over the next decade
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearingSpeed Read Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy
