CRIME/LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In 1974, some of President Richard Nixon’s lawyers advised the president that he could pardon himself. In 1992, the Iran-Contra special prosecutor reached the opposite conclusion regarding President George H.W. Bush.
Neither president took that step, and constitutional scholars say the question of the presidential self-pardon remains unresolved.
But the U.S. Constitution, unlike many state governments, centralizes prosecutorial authority under the president. That means he could forbid the Justice Department from investigating or pursuing criminal charges against anyone, including himself, so he may never reach the point of having to pardon himself.
The subject has come to the fore in recent days after reports emerged that President Donald Trump had asked his advisers about his ability to pardon various people, including himself.
Trump officials say the issue won’t come up because there was no wrongdoing.”
-Jess Bravin, “Presidential Self-Pardon Remains a Murky Issue,” The Wall Street Journal online, July 24, 2017 05:23pm