Experts Arguing That Trump Might Have Broken Georgia Law, Which He Cannot Self-Pardon For

Trump supporters with branded bus in December 2020. Did President Donald Trump break the law in asking Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to “find” votes on his behalf in the 2020 election? It is just under 17 full days until President-elect Joe Biden  gets sworn into office, but that is more than enough time for the incumbent to pardon himself. The odds of Trump declaring a self pardon just went up a bunch — Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) January 3, 2021 The current dialogue about presidential self –pardon stretches back to even before the current administration . One thing is 100 percent clear, however: This federal pardon power does not touch state law. That is definitely something to think about, as some legal experts are arguing that POTUS did not just break federal law in making this case, but state law too. Law Professor Jed Shugerman of the Fordham University School of Law suggested that Trump “arguably” violated both versions of criminal solicitation of election fraud. GA Code 21-2-586 (b) If the Sec of State or any employee willfully destroys, alters, or permits to be destroyed or altered any document described in subsection a… the Secretary of State or employee of his or her office shall be guilty of a felony.https://t.co/rIuQE3CNPs — Jed Shugerman (@jedshug) January 3, 2021 Professor Anthony Michael Kreiss  of the Georgia State University College of Law also maintained that Trump broke state law on soliciting election fraud . Between that and “we need” the number of votes Biden won by plus one is just an astonishing demand. There’s no way to read this other than a blatant attempt to pressure Georgia officials to lie and alter legitimate election results with a wink and a nod to a looming consequence. — Anthony Michael Kreis (@AnthonyMKreis) January 3, 2021 From Andrew Weissmann , former federal prosecutor and member of the Mueller special counsel team: Trump’s statement shows he knows what the law is and he is doing precisely what it forbids: seeking to cause submission of false election results – and threatening folks to do that, to boot. Federal and state crimes. https://t.co/jKoh7xAdiV — Andrew Weissmann (@AWeissmann_) January 3, 2021 The matter of federal self-pardon is another matter completely. Writing in context of the Russia probe, attorney and Law&Crime analyst Elura Nanos argued in 2017 that Trump “very likely has the power to issue a self-pardon.” She stood by that analysis when we reached out to her on Sunday, though she pointed out an important element in this case. “Keep in mind that the one issue is that if criminal charges were never actually brought, the timing of a preemptive pardon might be problematic,” she told us. As she wrote in her 2017 op-ed, President Gerald Ford ‘s pardon of predecessor Richard Nixon  was controversial because it was pre-emptive, and the legal question underlying this remains unanswered. From her article: A blanket absolution for all offenses that stymies a prosecution before it even happens? That’s got “Trump” written all over it. Ford’s pardon of Nixon wasn’t without it’s own controversy, as some legal scholars argued that its preemptive nature exceeded the bounds of Ford’s constitutional authority. Others raised the counterargument that that pardons are properly timed so long as they are issued after the commission  of a crime – not necessarily after the proof at trial of that crime. Both arguments make some sense, and neither has been tested, so it’s tough to say what would happen if the issue were raised in court by the Trump administration or its opponents. [Image via Jessica McGowan/Getty Images]
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