Report: Trump considers pardon for himself, ways to hinder Russia probe

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US President Donald Trump and his legal team have discussed his authority to grant pardons and potential ways to hinder special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian election meddling, according to a Washington Post report late Thursday.

The report said Trump has asked his advisers about his powers to pardon aids, family members and even himself in connection with the probe.

There is no president in American history that has pardoned himself, and the legal implications of that could be explosive.

Former FBI director Robert Mueller, now special counsel on the Russian investigation, leaves following a meeting with members of the US Senate Judiciary Committee at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on June 21, 2017. /VCG Photo

Trump’s legal team declined to comment on this, but the Washington Post citing one adviser reported that the president has expressed curiosity in understanding the reach of his pardoning power and the limits of Mueller’s investigation.

Senator Mark Warner spoke out as the reports emerge, saying it would be “extremely disturbing” if Trump was contemplating a pardon for people who could be involved in the probe on Russian meddling in last year’s election.

“The possibility that the president is considering pardons at this early stage in these ongoing investigations is extremely disturbing,” said Warner in a statement. “Pardoning any individuals who may have been involved would be crossing a fundamental line.”

Senator Mark Warner questions witnesses about Russian interference in US elections at the Senate Intelligence Committee in Washington, DC on June 21, 2017. /VCG Photo

Trump’s legal team is trying to hinder the probe and they are compiling a list of Mueller’s alleged potential conflicts of interest in order to block his work, according to the Washington Post.

The White House has yet to comment on the report.

The president also worried about the notion that Mueller’s probe could reach into his family finances. In an interview with the New York Times on Wednesday, Trump warned Mueller that some of his family finances should be off-limits to the investigation.

Jay Sekulow, one of Trump’s private lawyers, said on Thursday that the president and his lawyers intend to make sure Mueller stays within the boundaries of his assignment as special counsel.

So far, Mueller’s investigation has expanded to include whether Trump obstructed justice in his firing of former FBI director James B. Comey, as well as some business activities of him and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

As Trump drew fire for his apparent intention to influence Mueller’s probe, a key member of Trump’s legal team, spokesman Mark Corallo, resigned his post on Friday with no reason given.