OA90: Pardon Me? Yes, Donald Trump Can Pardon Himself

Opening Arguments

In today's episode, Andrew definitively opines that the Presidential pardon power includes the right to self-pardon. We begin, however, with "Andrew Was Wrong." This time, he was wrong about Thor Heyerdahl, but right about the fate of Ken Ham's Ark Encounter. In our main segment, the guys analyze the recent claims by Laurence Tribe, Richard Painter, and Norm Eisen that Donald Trump does not have the power to pardon himself and find it less than persuasive. Next, Andrew briefly discusses the legality of Trump's tweet regarding transgender individuals serving in the military. Finally, we end with an all-new Thomas Takes the Bar Exam Question #34 about introducing a rape victim's sexual history into evidence. Remember that you can play along with #TTTBE by retweeting our episode Tweet along with your guess. We'll release the answer on next Tuesday's episode along with our favorite entry! Recent Appearances Andrew's talk before the Lehigh Valley Humanists is now up on YouTube. Show Notes & Links

1. We first discussed AIG's Ark Encounter land sale in Opening Arguments episode #88.
2. This is the press release from Answers in Genesis regarding their Ark Encounter fraud, and here is one news account of how the City suspended the tax breaks for the Ark Encounter and the subsequent revocation of the sale.
3. This is the Tribe/Painter/Eisen article in the Washington Post arguing that Trump doesn't have the power to pardon himself.
4. Here is a link to the 1974 Lawton memo.
5. This is a link to the Autobiography of Charles Biddle; you'll want to turn to page 306-08 for the Aaron Burr story.
6. This is "The Law as King and the King as Law" from the Hastings Law Quarterly 20:7.
7. Schick v. Reed, 419 U.S. 256 (1974).
8. Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. 419 (1793).
9. Here is a link to Gov. Stevens's self-pardon in 1856.
10. This is a link to Mayor James G. Woodward's self-pardon for public drunkenness in 1901.
11. Finally, this is the Newsweek article referenced on the show that discusses self-pardons.

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