U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner on Friday pushed back on the notion that President Donald Trump has the power to pardon himself, saying at the very least that it would be a “really bad idea.”
“No one’s above the law. No one’s above the law,” Gardner, a Colorado Republican, told The Denver Post after speaking at the Western Conservative Summit in downtown Denver. “I think if he were to try, it would be a really bad idea.”
Gardner chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is charged with keeping the U.S. Senate in GOP hands.
Trump on Friday doubled down on his belief that he could pardon himself should be convicted of a crime after tweeting out that assertion earlier this week.
As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong? In the meantime, the never ending Witch Hunt, led by 13 very Angry and Conflicted Democrats (& others) continues into the mid-terms!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
“I have an absolute right to pardon myself,” he said, according to White House pool reports.
He added that he doesn’t have to pardon himself because he has done nothing wrong.
Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, also said a pardon wouldn’t happen.
“Pardoning himself would be unthinkable and probably lead to immediate impeachment,” Giuliani told NBC’s “Meet the Press” last weekend.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.