Trump’s Pardons Must Not Obstruct Justice

Laurence Tribe: “If, as Alexander Pope reflected in 1711, ‘to err is human, to forgive, divine,’ then the US Constitution’s pardon power — the prerogative of forgiveness — should be beyond reproach.”

“Instead, a godless US president who appears incapable of forgiveness has seemingly perverted this instrument of mercy into another grave threat to the rule of law. Donald Trump’s recent twisting of the pardon power risks leaving a damaging legacy: a blueprint for manipulating this vestige of royal prerogative to place presidents and their cronies above the law. But a remedy exists: investigation and potential prosecution. We must treat any obstructions of justice we uncover as the crimes they are.”