Donald Trump is expected to issue a flood of pardons in his final days in office that might include his family, his aides, and himself.
CNN reports: “Initially, two major batches had been ready to roll out, one at the end of last week and one on Tuesday. Now, officials expect the last batch to be the only one — unless Trump decides at the last minute to grant pardons to controversial allies, members of his family or himself. The final batch of clemency actions is expected to include a mix of criminal justice reform-minded pardons and more controversial ones secured or doled out to political allies.”
The Washington Post reports that Trump met with Jared and Ivanka for hours on Sunday discussing the lists: “Neither Trump nor his children have been charged with crimes, and they are not known to be under federal investigation. But the question of a presidential self-pardon has become more urgent and controversial since the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by the president’s supporters. Some aides think Trump could face criminal liability for inciting the crowd. Others think a self-pardon, never before attempted by a president, would be of dubious constitutionality but could anger Senate Republicans preparing to serve as key jurors at Trump’s impeachment trial, and would amount to an admission of guilt that could be used against Trump in potential civil litigation related to the Capitol attack.”
