Can a President, who is a convicted felon, give a legal pardon to anyone?

[Jedi Guy]

15. Well, according to the 22nd Amendment Trump can't run in 2028.

So a more likely hypothetical might be that the GOP runs Vance in 2028 and he goes on to lose. Trump pardons him, resigns, and is then pardoned in turn by now-President Vance, who finishes the remainder of Trump's term until the President-elect is inaugurated.

On paper, there's nothing to stop Trump and Vance from doing exactly that, both for each other and for any other cronies they care to protect on their way out the door. It would dodge a challenge to a self-pardon, though I'm not convinced a challenge would succeed anyway since the Constitution doesn't say a President can't pardon himself.

I think odds are pretty decent that we'll see a slew of pardons from Trump on the way out the door. It won't be because he cares about his underlings or feels any loyalty to them, of course, because that's not how he rolls. It'd be to make sure they don't get loaded up with charges from the next administration's DoJ. Even if he's pardoned himself or been pardoned by Vance, he wouldn't want that kind of testimony happening about his time in office since he can avoid it so easily and it'd be a cheerfully hoisted middle finger to an incoming Democratic President.