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Added on the 22/04/2019 17:59:01 - Copyright : Wochit
President Donald Trump is refusing to concede the 2020 election to President-elect Joe Biden. Eventually, Trump will have to accept defeat and concede the race. CNN reports that Trump could use his expansive pardon power to try to settle legal questions on his way out the door. Will Trump consider granting himself a pardon? He faces state investigations into his business and finances. There is also the prospect of federal investigators scrutinizing him after he leaves office. There is no law saying Trump cannot pardon himself. Trump's pardons would only cover federal crimes. Trump still faces ongoing investigations into his Organization by the New York attorney general and the Manhattan district attorney.
The House panel that investigated last year's attack on the US Capitol recommends that criminal charges be filed against former president Donald Trump. The committee unanimously recommended that the Justice Department charge Trump with inciting an insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiring to defraud the US government and making false statements. IMAGES
Former president Donald Trump's refusal to immediately intervene to stop last year's assault on the US Capitol makes him "unfit for any office," the vice chair of the House panel investigating the attack says. "No man who would behave that way at that moment in time can ever serve in any position of authority in our nation again," Representative Liz Cheney tells the final meeting of the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. "He is unfit for any office," she adds. SOUNDBITE
President Donald Trump's final batch of pardons is expected to contain few controversial or outlandish criminals. According to CNN, Trump spent Saturday night huddled in a lengthy meeting with his legal advisers. In it, he was warned that pardoning himself and his family members would put him in legal peril and convey the appearance of guilt. Also, pardoning GOP lawmakers involved in the Capitol insurrection would anger the very Senate Republicans impeaching him. Several of Trump's closest advisers have also urged him not to grant clemency to anyone who breached the US Capitol. White House counsel Pat Cipollone and another attorney who represented Trump in his first impeachment trial, Eric Herschmann, offered the grave warnings. Trump, his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner listened quietly. Trump may, of course, change his mind.
Former FBI Director James Comey gave an interview to the Guardian. In the interview he eviscerated President Donald Trump, his supporters, and the Republican Party. He described the pro-Trump riot at the Capitol as the US's "Chernobyl." Comey said the riots were the result of a breakdown in the country's checks and balances caused by Trump. Comey has been forthright about the president in recent days. According to Business Insider Comey has reservations about giving Trump post-presidential intelligence briefings.
President Donald Trump has been asking aides and lawyers about his self-pardon power. This includes White House counsel Pat Cipollone, according to CNN. Some of those conversations have happened in recent weeks, one of the sources says. Trump has asked about the legal and political consequences of a self-pardon. A Justice Department legal memo says the president cannot pardon himself. However, he can step down and ask his vice president to take over and pardon him.