Late breaking story in the Washington Post last night:
Some of President Trump’s lawyers are exploring ways to limit or undercut special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s Russia investigation, building a case against what they allege are his conflicts of interest and discussing the president’s authority to grant pardons, according to people familiar with the effort.
Trump has asked his advisers about his power to pardon aides, family members and even himself in connection with the probe, according to one of those people. A second person said Trump’s lawyers have been discussing the president’s pardoning powers among themselves.
Trump’s legal team declined to comment on the issue. But one adviser said the president has simply expressed a curiosity in understanding the reach of his pardoning authority, as well as the limits of Mueller’s investigation.
“This is not in the context of, ‘I can’t wait to pardon myself,’ ” a close adviser said.
We know by now that whatever they say they’re not doing, it’s exactly what they’re up to.
This smarmy, lying bastard will “pardon” Hillary as cover and then it will rain pardons.
Trump and his “empire” are toast whether he pardons everybody including himself or not.
I just read that presidential pardons only work for federal criminal offenses. So any enterprising state AG can still go after him, and what’s more, civil actions can still be brought.
This one, for example:
https://www.lawfareblog.com/new-front-opens-laffaire-russe
Which, should it survive the motion to dismiss, would then open up discovery:
“And that means the plaintiffs will get discovery.
The pleading is rich—very rich and intentionally so, I suspect—with allegations that will provide for plausible discovery requests against all kinds of actors and on all kinds of subjects. It makes reference to the President’s tax returns, for example. It names a large number of individuals, whose depositions plaintiffs might plausibly seek. One of the defendants is the campaign itself, meaning that the campaign’s agents, actors, employees, and documents, are all potentially subject to discovery. So if I’m right that the suit eventually survives that initial motion to dismiss, it will immediately become a gold mine for journalists and investigators. And it will present an intense set of headaches for the Trump forces both inside and outside of government. Think Paula Jones, but not about a single act of alleged harassment. Think Paula Jones—only about everything.”