Can Trump pardon himself?

A piece titled "Most world leaders have pardon power. Few use it the way Trump has," appeared in The Washington Post on 20 January 2021, the day of Joe Biden's inauguration.

- ATANU BISWAS

A piece titled "Most world leaders have pardon power. Few use it the way Trump has," appeared in The Washington Post on 20 January 2021, the day of Joe Biden's inauguration. It might have been an overly critical evaluation of Donald Trump, though, if we go back and look at the history of presidential pardons in America.

A president may "grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment," according to Article II, Section 2 of the US Constitution. Future acts are definitely not pardonable by a president. Nonetheless, a pre-emptive pardon may be granted.

Also, although a few presidents have used their authority to revoke pardons, Article II contains no mention of doing so. On his first day in office, President Ulysses S. Grant revoked three of the pardons that President Andrew Johnson had granted. Washington Monthly cited Supreme Court Associate Justice Joseph Story's 1868 Constitution textbook, which states that a presidential pardon may be rescinded in the event that the president is impeached.

However, although both Trump and Clinton were impeached in recent history, their pardons remained in effect after their terms. Meanwhile, George W. Bush rescinded one of his own pardons.

In England, the king had a long-standing custom of granting compassionate pardons and the American founders borrowed this authority. It was Alexander Hamilton who pressed the constitutional convention to include a broad pardon power exclusively vested in the president, despite some disagreement over whether Congress should have to approve pardons.