"I’ll leave the legal arguments to the constitutional scholars, but the idea that any public official could pardon themselves is contrary to our nation’s most basic values," Democratic Senator Bob Casey stated in a Twitter message. "No one is above the law, including the President of the United States."
No one is above the law, including the President of the United States. I’ll leave the legal arguments to the constitutional scholars, but the idea that any public official could pardon themselves is contrary to our nation’s most basic values. https://t.co/awlqbSyc0B
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) 4 июня 2018 г.
The Special Counsel investigation has secured guilty pleas or indicted 19 individuals and three companies. Three former Trump aides have already pled guilty. https://t.co/fkGWOoYDon
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) 4 июня 2018 г.
Jerrold Nadler, the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, provided a more expansive argument in a separate press release.
"The president is no different from other public officials who are regularly prosecuted for taking bribes in exchange for official acts or using their office to interfere with criminal investigations," Nadler said.
Nadler also took issue with Trump’s claim that the Mueller probe itself is unconstitutional — a claim made by former campaign aide Paul Manafort.
"The court rejected that motion and Manafort will rightly face trial for his alleged crimes," Nadler said.
Read my statement on @realDonaldTrump’s incorrect assertions of an ‘absolute' right to self-pardon and his exemption from obstructing justice. pic.twitter.com/arddoSXfyy
— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) 4 июня 2018 г.
The comments by both lawmakers followed a claim by Trump that he has an "absolute right" to pardon himself.
Trump’s remarks on Twitter followed months of speculation, especially by pundits on US television news programs, on whether he could be indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
READ MORE: Trump Says Has 'Absolute' Right to Pardon Himself Amid Russia Probe
Whether a sitting US president can be indicted or can issue a self-pardon have never been tested in US courts. The Constitution itself is unclear on the issue, instead of giving Congress the authority to try a president for alleged crimes and remove the president from office.
Mueller has indicted Manafort on charges of money laundering and other financial crimes that allegedly took place years before Trump entered politics and are unrelated to Manafort’s work on the 2016 presidential campaign.
Russia denies all allegations of collusion or otherwise meddling in the US election. Trump’s latest tweet repeated his often-stated claim that Mueller probe is a "witch hunt," a term often used to describe an investigation in search of a crime.
