Donald Trump 'explores ways to pardon himself and his family'
The White House has been forced to deny reports that President Donald Trump was investigating ways of pardoning himself and his family, after The Washington Post quoted several sources inside the Trump team as saying the president wanted to clear his name.
No president has ever sought to pardon himself before, and so the legality of any such move remains unclear.
But the paper reported that one person inside Mr Trump's legal team said the president has asked his advisers about his power to pardon aides, family members and even himself in connection with Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian hacking of the election.
A second person said Mr Trump’s lawyers have been discussing the president’s pardoning powers among themselves.
One adviser, quoted by the paper, said that Mr Trump wanted to understand his powers, as well as the limits of Mr Mueller's investigation.
“This is not in the context of, ‘I can’t wait to pardon myself,’ ” a close adviser said.
But the news was seized upon in Washington, and forced Jay Sekulow, Mr Trump's lawyer, to deny that any such discussion had taken place.
He said that pardons “are not being discussed and are not on the table.”
John Dowd, another of Mr Trump's lawyers, said it was “not true” and “nonsense.”
“The President’s lawyers are cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller on behalf of the President,” he said.
