Why Sean Hannity Said Trump Should Pardon Himself And His Family
Conservative political commentator Sean Hannity has some ideas for Donald Trump. After the president announced a full pardon for his former national security advisor Michael Flynn, the host suggested the president do the same for himself. "The president out the door needs to pardon his whole family and himself, because they want this witch hunt to go on in perpetuity," the conservative said on the Nov. 30 episode of his radio show, per The Daily Mail.
Predicting that President-elect Joe Biden will embark on a legal investigation into any criminal behavior Trump may have committed while he was in office, Hannity added, "They're so full of rage and insanity against the president." He continued to explain that the Biden administration will be under public scrutiny to encourage such an investigation, but it's been debated if Trump has the power to pardon himself and his family.
"I mean, I assume that the power of the pardon is absolute, and that he should be able to pardon anybody that he wants to?" Hannity asked his guest Sidney Powell, who was let go as Trump's attorney after a rowdy press conference to address concerns of voter fraud. "It is absolute it's in the Constitution," she told Hannity. Keep scrolling for more details about what Hannity thinks Trump should do to protect himself and his family from an unwanted legal battle.
President Trump has pardoned many of his supporters in the past
Helping those who have helped him, President Donald Trump has pardoned several of his supporters in the past. After pardoning his former national security advisor Michael Flynn, many have speculated that Trump will pardon himself and his family next. It's a fair guess, considering no one loves Trump as much as the Trumps love Trump. (Say that three times fast and 2020 will be over.) All jokes aside, the New York native has become notorious for his pardons, especially after he commuted the criminal sentence of Roger Stone, who was convicted and for lying under oath to lawmakers.
According to The Daily Mail, Trump reportedly asked his advisors if he has the right to pardon himself and his loved ones "preemptively" for crimes investigated in the future. Although Sidney Powell first told Sean Hannity that Trump has the "absolute" right to pardon himself, she later back tracked, adding she's not sure if Trump has the "authority" to do so.
Trump hinted at a potential self-pardon after he retweeted a suggestion from Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz following Flynn's pardon. "President Trump should pardon Flynn, the Thanksgiving turkey, and everyone from himself, to his admin, to Joe Exotic if he has to," he tweeted on Nov. 24. "The Left has a bloodlust that will only be quenched if they come for those who fought with @realDonaldTrump to deliver for the American people." There's no telling what could happen for the Trumps in the months to come.
Donal Trump could be the first US president to pardon himself
While the United States has had its fair share of political controversy, including President Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal and Bill Clinton's rendezvous with Monica Lewinsky, neither president pardoned themselves to escape future persecution — but it was definitely on their minds.
According to CNN's Zach Wolf, the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel sent a memo just days before Nixon resigned in 1974 arguing that the president did not have the authority to pardon himself. "Under the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case, it would seem that the question should be answered in the negative," they wrote at the time. While the analyst explained that the memo was a "legal opinion, not law," he added, "like the opinion that a sitting president can't be charged with a crime, these things take on the feel of precedent." Wolf continued to remind citizens that Nixon's successor Gerald Ford gave the disgraced ex-president an unconditional pardon one month after he stepped down.
Despite the scandals that have plagued the White House, "no other US president had the audacity to think he could do it," referring to the idea of a presidential self-pardon. While no president before has yet to do so, Trump seems to think it is in his purview after his 2018 tweet, where he wrote, "As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong?" After all, as news legend Dan Rather echoed, "What the heck is a 'preemptive pardon' other than an admission of guilt?"