But what if he’s pardoned? Vice President Gore would face voter ire if he became president and pardoned Clinton. But Clinton might pardon himself, after the November 2000 presidential election.
Don’t be prissy. The Constitution gives the president power to pardon ““for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.’’ That’s it. Nothing that says he can’t pardon himself for federal crimes, though the last clause means he can’t block his own impeachment.
Now you’re thinking like a lawyer.
Sure. Here’s one: the Constitution tries not to create unaccountable power. If a president has to pardon himself, he’s probably finished politically–he’ll never run again, so he’s unaccountable to voters. There’s also the legal maxim that ““no one should be judge in his own cause.’’ And Prof. Stephen Saltzburg notes the Constitution explicitly says presidents are to be subject to normal criminal charges after they’re removed from office. Self-pardons would prevent that.
None. The issue has never come up. Even Nixon didn’t try a self-pardon (though his lawyers told him he could do it). Nobody knows what the courts would decide.
Does Clinton really want to litigate this, when he can just beat the rap at trial like Mike Espy?
