WASHINGTON — President Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani said Sunday that the president’s constitutional powers probably include the ability to pardon himself. But he said such a move would surely incite a political storm and lead to impeachment proceedings.
Giuliani, appearing on ABC’s ‘‘This Week,’’ was asked about a letter sent by Trump’s legal team early this year to Special Counsel Robert Mueller III saying the president can’t be forced to testify as part of Mueller’s inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The 20-page letter asserted that Trump has unlimited power over federal investigations and could terminate any investigation ‘‘or even exercise his power to pardon.’’ The existence of the letter was first reported by The New York Times.
When asked whether Trump has the power to pardon himself, Giuliani replied, “he probably does.’’
“He has no intention of pardoning himself,’’ Giuliani added. “I think the political ramifications of that would be tough.’’
Giuliani, a former prosecutor, was not on Trump’s legal team when the letter to Mueller was written.
The president’s power to issue pardons is spelled out in Article II of the Constitution.
On NBC’s ‘‘Meet the Press,’’ Giuliani framed the pardon question as purely hypothetical and politically implausible.
‘‘It’s not going to happen. It’s a hypothetical point,’’ Giuliani said.
‘‘Pardoning himself would be unthinkable and probably lead to immediate impeachment,’’ Giuliani told NBC’s ‘‘Meet the Press.’’ ‘'And he has no need to do it; he’s done nothing wrong.’’
This is not the first time the issue of the president’s ability to pardon himself has come up.
As early as last summer, as Mueller’s investigation proceeded, the president began quietly asking advisers about his power to pardon aides, family members, and even himself. His lawyers at the time began discussing his pardoning powers as well.
Giuliani said Sunday it remains an open question whether the president will testify in the investigation. He said that Trump wants to testify but that Giuliani and his team are leaning against recommending that.
‘‘This is the president’s decision ultimately,’’ he said. ‘‘He believes he’s telling the truth. He is telling the truth. He believes justice should win out.’’ But, Giuliani added: ‘‘I’m a lawyer — it’s not that simple.’’
Giuliani said the president’s legal team would contest an attempt by Mueller to compel Trump to testify in front of a grand jury.
But he distanced himself from one of the bolder arguments in the letter to Mueller: that a president could not have committed obstruction of justice because he has authority to ‘‘if he wished, terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon.’’
Later in the same program, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, a Republican, also dismissed the argument put forward by the Trump legal team that the president inherently cannot obstruct justice.
‘‘It’s an outrageous claim. It’s wrong,’’ said Christie, a former US attorney. ‘‘They were trying to make a broad argument. Lawyers do that all the time in briefs, even to court.’’
Former president Bill Clinton was charged with obstruction in 1998 by the House of Representatives as part of his impeachment trial. And one of the articles of impeachment prepared against President Richard Nixon in 1974 was for obstruction.
Trump jabbed at the Justice Department via Twitter on Sunday morning, going so far as to put ‘‘Justice’’ in quotes.
The president expressed dismay that, when still a candidate, he wasn’t told that authorities were probing Paul Manafort, who was hired as Trump’s campaign chairman. Manafort has been charged by Mueller with multiple felonies, including money laundering, conspiracy, and bank and tax fraud.
‘‘As only one of two people left who could become president, why wouldn’t the FBI or Department of ‘Justice’ have told me that they were secretly investigating Paul Manafort (on charges that were 10 years old and had been previously dropped) during my campaign? Should have told me!’’ Trump wrote.
He added: ‘‘Paul Manafort came into the campaign very late and was with us for a short period of time (he represented Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole, and many others over the years), but we should have been told that Comey and the boys were doing a number on him, and he wouldn’t have been hired!’’
Trump has issued two unrelated pardons in recent days and discussed others, a move that has been interpreted as a possible signal to allies ensnared in the Russia inquiry.