Can Donald Trump pardon himself? His US Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett won’t say
- Barrett says nation’s top judicial body ‘can’t control’ whether president obeys its decisions
- Trump, who is facing criminal investigation in New York, has said he has ‘absolute power’ to pardon himself
President Donald Trump’s US Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Wednesday said it is an “open question” as to whether Trump could pardon himself while adding that the nation’s top judicial body “can’t control” whether a president obeys its decisions.
On the third day of her four-day Judiciary Committee hearing, Barrett also sought to allay Democratic fears that she would be an automatic vote to strike down the Obamacare health care law in a case due to be argued November 10, promising an “open mind”.
Barrett sidestepped questions from senators on the ability of presidents to evade efforts to hold them accountable.
Trump has said he has the “absolute power” to pardon himself, part of his executive clemency authority. Asked by Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy whether a president has such power, Barrett said the “question has never been litigated”.
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“That question may or may not arise but it’s one that calls for legal analysis of what the scope of the pardon power is. So because it would be opining on an open question when I haven’t gone through the judicial process to decide it, it’s not one on which I can offer a view,” Barrett added.