Pardon me, but.... ?

[garybeck]

Pardons?

There is a lot of buzz/rumor about the coming wave of pardons..... We all know Trump is going to pardon a bunch of his buddies. But could Trump pardon himself, or his friends, pre-emptively, before he leaves office, but before they are actually charged? Specifically,

Can someone (the president himself, or any of his buddies) be pardoned before there actually is an indictment or conviction to pardon?

I'm not a lawyer but these scenarios about Trump or Pence pardoning people for crimes they "could be" accused of after 1/21/21, seem far fetched to me. The protection against all this is to simply not file any charges on Trump or any more of his buddies until 1/21/21, at which point they will be powerless.

If it were possible to pardon someone before there is an indictment or conviction it seems that every president would effectively give themselves and all their friends a get-out-of-jail-free card for everything they ever did before or during their term.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

1. General consensus is unclear but there is nothing in the Constitution preventing it.

I do not believe you can pre-emptively pardon someone (assuming you mean for crimes yet uncommitted).

Pence could pardon him for crimes he committed before the pardon but not for crimes he would commit at some point in the future.

[garybeck]

2. OK, i need to clarify in the OP

What if Trump gets indicted on 1/21 for money laundering, or tax evasion, or _____. the crime took place before 1/21. is there any way he could be pardoned now for a crime that has already taken place, even though he hasn't been been accused/indicted. not future crimes yet to be committed.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

4. I believe he can be pardoned for crimes he has committed but hasn't been charged for.

Ford did that with Nixon.

Trump is going to pardon a SHITLOAD of people.

[Louis1895]

5. I think the answer is Yes

But Ford only pardoned Nixon for crimes committed as President. Pence's career may be over if he is dumb enough to pardon Trump for crimes before Trump was President.

[Louis1895]

3. Pardon of Richard Nixon

Pardon of Richard Nixon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The pardon of Richard Nixon (formally known as Proclamation 4311) was a presidential proclamation issued by President of the United States Gerald Ford on September 8, 1974. By it, Ford granted to Richard Nixon, his predecessor, a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes that he might have committed against the United States as president.[1][2] In particular, the pardon covered Nixon's actions during the Watergate scandal. In a televised broadcast to the nation, Ford, who had succeeded to the presidency upon Nixon's resignation, explained that he felt the pardon was in the best interests of the country and that the Nixon family's situation was "a tragedy in which we all have played a part. It could go on and on and on, or someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only I can do that, and if I can, I must."[3]

After Ford left the White House in 1977, he privately justified his pardon of Nixon by carrying in his wallet a portion of the text of Burdick v. United States, a 1915 U.S. Supreme Court decision that suggested that a pardon carries an imputation of guilt and that its acceptance carries a confession of guilt.[4][5]

See for more information and citations:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardon_of_Richard_Nixon

[garybeck]

6. geesh! n/t