U.S President Donald Trump claims in a Tweet that he has the "absolute right" to pardon himself regarding Robert Mueller's investigation on the Russia probe. He then added that he wouldn't need to since he has done nothing wrong. Special counsel Robert Mueller has remained silent and has not commented on the Tweet, but legal scholars and experts on constitutional law seem to be divided on the accuracy of the president‘s statement. Rudy Giuliani a member of Trump's legal team first raised questions about the issue, when he said during an interview that Trump could issue a self-pardon if he really wanted to, although that could lead to impeachment.
Trump's legal team sent Mueller a 20-page letter
It is not the first time the issue of self-pardon has come up since Mr Trump took office. According to The Huffington Post, Trump‘s legal team pushed the notion of a self-pardon in a 20-page letter that was sent to Mr Mueller back in January of this year. Since then, both the president‘s legal advisers and his administration has been advocating for the end of Mueller‘s investigation, with growing frustration on the matter. Mr Trump has repeatedly called the investigation a "witch hunt“ and frequently tried to undermine it with denial by calling all news of his team collaborating with the Russians in the 2016 elections, "fake news“ He has stated that Mueller‘s appointment is simply unconstitutional.
Muller was appointed by deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, one year after Trump fired FBI director James Comey.
Giuliani continues to cause trouble
Mueller has requested an interview with Trump to determine if the president had any criminal intent to obstruct the investigation, Time reports. According to Giuliani, nothing will be decided until after Trump‘s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
They are scheduled to meet in Singapore on 12 June. And even then, Giuliani doubted that Mueller would get Trump to sit down with him, saying, "You got everything you need…what do you need us for?“ Since being added to the president‘s legal team Mr Giuliani has conducted many interviews that have done little to clear the air.
On Sunday, Mr Giuliani told The Huffington Post that Trump could shoot former FBI director James Comey in the Oval Office and still not be indicted for it, while still serving as president. He also told reporters that not only had Mr Trump known about his lawyer‘s payment to the former porn star Stormy Daniels, but that he had paid his lawyer back the money.
