Fact check: Trump’s power to pardon

President Trump tweeted that “all agree the U.S. President has the complete power to pardon.” It’s true that the president has the constitutional power to issue pardons, but there are some limits to that power.

Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution says a president cannot pardon “in cases of impeachment.” It also limits the power to “offenses against the United States,” which would exclude violations of state laws.

The issue of whether a president could pardon himself remains an unresolved legal issue that is open to debate. Trump’s own attorney, Jay Sekulow, said on ABC’s This Week that the power to pardon oneself has “never been adjudicated” and would likely be decided by the Supreme Court.

The president posted his tweet on July 22 — a day after The Washington Post reported that some of the president’s lawyers are “discussing the president’s authority to grant pardons” for his “aides, family members and even himself” in connection with the federal investigation into whether the Trump campaign cooperated with Russia’s attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election. The Post report on the issue of pardons was based on anonymous sources described as “people familiar with the effort.”

We asked the White House what the president meant by “complete power,” but we have not received a response.