White House adviser and Barr warned Trump not to forgive himself

Trump has proposed the idea of ​​pardoning himself and his family in recent weeks, although it is unknown whether he has done so since Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol. Trump has been severely criticized for inciting attacks. Last weekend, the U.S. attorney representing the District of Columbia told NPR that senior prosecutors will follow every investigation lead, and they can determine the role of people in the attack, even if it involves a review of government officials.

Before Trump leaves office next week, the White House is expected to grant more pardons.

CNN did not receive an immediate response from the White House, and Barr did not immediately provide comments to CNN.

The memo does say that the current president can resign, and once that person becomes president, his vice president can be pardoned. That’s what happened when President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon in 1974.

Two sources close to Vice President Mike Pence said that in this case, Pence is unlikely to issue an amnesty to Trump. Pence was once a loyal supporter of the president, but now he is frustrated and disappointed with Trump’s behavior during the riots and did not ask to check him during and after the riots.

Even if Trump administration officials disagree with Trump’s actions, he can still forgive himself. Self-pardon will only extend to federal crimes and cannot protect Trump from state actions, including investigations by New York State prosecutors into Trump’s personal and corporate finances.

Usually, the White House Office of Legal Counsel will request the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice to provide opinions on major legal issues. The office is responsible for expressing opinions on the powers of the executive branch and generally tends to have a broad view of the powers of the president.

Barr and Cipollon’s opposition to Trump’s forgiveness is noteworthy because they are both staunch defenders of Trump and exercised extensive executive powers in the Russian investigation and the impeachment proceedings against the Ukrainian president in 2020. .

Both of them recently had a dispute with the president over the presidential election lies. Barr resigned in December after publicly declaring that there was no widespread election fraud. Cipollone has considered resigning in recent weeks after he strongly opposed the president and his desire to use his office to overturn the election results.