United States President-Elect, Donald Trump To Be Sentenced By January 10, Ten Days Before His Inauguration

Can Trump Pardon Himself From Criminal Charges?

Trump will not be able to pardon himself once he takes office. The president’s pardon power applies only to federal charges, while this case against Trump was brought in New York state court. Trump will not have to pardon himself on any federal charges, since the two pending federal criminal cases against him were both dropped after his election—though it’s unclear if he would have been able to in the first place. The Justice Department issued guidance during the Watergate scandal in 1974 saying presidents can’t pardon themselves, though since President Richard Nixon resigned without trying to pardon himself, the issue has never been tested in practice.

Trump became the first former or sitting president to be found guilty on criminal charges in May, when a jury convicted Trump on 34 felony counts of falsification of business records following a weeks-long trial. Trump was charged based on a hush money payment his ex-attorney Michael Cohen paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, which Trump then reimbursed Cohen for through payments made throughout 2017. Prosecutors successfully argued those payments were falsely labeled as being for legal services, though Trump pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing in the case. While Trump’s sentencing was initially supposed to take place in July, the ex-president successfully pushed it back after the Supreme Court’s ruling giving him some immunity, first until September and then until after the election, as Merchan ruled he wanted to avoid any appearance of political bias that could arise if he sentenced Trump right before Election Day. The sentencing was then postponed indefinitely following Trump’s presidential win, as the president-elect made a renewed push to have the verdict dropped.