USA: Can Trump Pardon himself if he wins in 2024?

US: A recent survey was conducted in the United States from Friday, June 16, 2023, to Tuesday, June 20, 2023, which revealed the disapprobation of over half of Americans, i-e, 55% on the former President Donald Trump, pardoning himself he was convicted in the classified documents case and reelected as president in 2024.

As per the reports, Over half of Americans (55%) would disapprove of former President Donald Trump pardoning himself if convicted in the classified documents case and reelected as president in 2024. That’s compared with just 28% who would approve, according to the survey of 1,626 US adults conducted from June 16 to 20.

Meanwhile, in the growing field of Republican candidates in the 2024 presidential race, Trump still leads in polling, even though he faces an indictment on federal charges over his handling of classified documents.

Jeffrey Crouch, an assistant professor of American politics at American University and an expert on executive clemency, explained to Yahoo News whether and how the former president could pardon himself if he’s reelected.

What is a presidential pardon, and what does it do?

“A pardon is the complete form of forgiveness that the president can offer to someone who has committed a federal offence. The pardon power is mentioned specifically in Article II of the US Constitution,” Crouch said in an email to Yahoo News. “A pardon is one of the two most common forms of presidential clemency today. A commutation is the other.”

If former President Trump is reelected in 2024, could he pardon himself, and under what circumstances?

“He may be able to pardon himself, but there are reasonable arguments on both sides of this question. We don’t know what would happen because no president has ever attempted a self-pardon,” Crouch said. “If Trump tried to pardon himself, it would be a controversial decision.”