Constitution and Pardons
The President…shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 2, Clause 1
Also, from the Heritage Constitution Guide:
The possibility of a President pardoning himself for a crime is not precluded by the explicit language of the Constitution, and, during the summer of 1974, some of President Richard M. Nixon’s lawyers argued that it was constitutionally permissible. But a broader reading of the Constitution and the general principles of the traditions of United States law might lead to the conclusion that a self-pardon is constitutionally impermissible. It would seem to violate the principles that a man should not be a judge in his own case; that the rule of law is supreme and the United States is a nation of laws, not men; and that the President is not above the law.
- James Pfiffner
- Professor of Public Policy
- George Mason University