--- title: Donald Trump Says He Can Pardon Himself, But Voters Disagree description: President Donald Trump has asserted that he has the "absolute right" to pardon himself if charged with a crime, but most voters disagree. canonical: https://time.com/5311182/donald-trump-self-pardon-poll/ author: Abigail Simon article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-13T16:40:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:30:50.113Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Says He Can Pardon Himself. Most Voters Disagree og:description: Republicans are split on the question, however. og:url: https://time.com/5311182/donald-trump-self-pardon-poll/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt514603768b2d26db/698932af4ee262a7f43120c8/gettyimages-970474584.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3678 og:image:height: 2069 og:image:alt: Group of Seven (G7) Leaders Summit og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Says He Can Pardon Himself. Most Voters Disagree twitter:description: Republicans are split on the question, however. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt514603768b2d26db/698932af4ee262a7f43120c8/gettyimages-970474584.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Says He Can Pardon Himself. Most Voters Disagree > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=7ddabd71-757d-48c6-9a06-0954aa35adad&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Legal Answers to Questions About Donald Trump and Robert Mueller [Watch (HLS stream): Legal Answers to Questions About Donald Trump and Robert Mueller](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/u2St1GOu.m3u8) (1:58)  _Published 2017-06-22. It's a deceptively simple question. Can Donald Trump fire Robert Mueller?_ by [Abigail Simon](https://time.com/author/abigail-simon/) ## Abigail Simon Jun 13, 2018 4:40 PM UTC It's a deceptively simple question. Can Donald Trump fire Robert Mueller? by [Abigail Simon](https://time.com/author/abigail-simon/) ## Abigail Simon Jun 13, 2018 4:40 PM UTC President Donald Trump has asserted that he has the “absolute right” to pardon himself if charged with a crime, but a new poll shows the large majority of registered voters do not agree. In [a recent survey from Morning Consult and Politico](https://morningconsult.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/180612%5Fcrosstabs%5FPOLITICO%5Fv1%5FDK.pdf), 58% of registered voters said they do not believe the president has the power to pardon himself, while only 21% agree with Trump on the issue. The poll was conducted June 7-10, several days after the New York _Times_ [published a memo](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/02/us/politics/trump-legal-documents.html) from Trump’s lawyers asserting the power of the president to pardon himself and Trump tweeted that “numerous legal scholars” have stated that he has the absolute right to do so. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1003616210922147841) A 1974 [memo](https://www.justice.gov/file/20856/download) written by the Office of Legal Counsel under President Nixon [stated that the president cannot self-pardon](http://time.com/4868108/donald-trump-pardon-himself/) based on the longstanding legal principle that no person can be their own judge, although the Supreme Court has never ruled on the issue. Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said recently that Trump would not pardon himself because it would lead to impeachment by the House of Representatives. **Read More:** [_Can President Trump Pardon Himself?_](http://time.com/4868108/donald-trump-pardon-himself/) The sentiment against self-pardons was even stronger among some groups, with 76% of Democrats and 61% of independents saying it is not legally permissible. Republicans, however, were split, with 36% saying it was not permissible and 33% saying it is. The survey of 1,994 registered voters nationwide had a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points. ## Transcript It's a deceptively simple question. Can Donald Trump fire Robert Mueller? I think he's considering perhaps terminating the special counsel. The president is clearly unhappy that the former head of the FBI was appointed as a special counsel, but some major legal questions surround what might happen next. [ MUSIC ] Trump can't fire Mueller directly but he could order the deputy attorney general who oversees the investigation to do it and if Rod Rosenstein said no Trump could fire him and pressure the next person in line. This is what Richard Nixon did during Watergate in the infamous Saturday Night Massacre. Alternately Trump could repeal the regulations around special counsels then fire Mueller himself. Though that would likely draw even more criticism. [ MUSIC ] Trump may not have to fire Rosenstein though. He might step down on his own accord. The deputy attorney general could decide he was too involved in things Mueller is investigating and recuse himself. In that case, the decisions on how to handle the special counsel's investigation Would fall to Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand, who worked in the Justice Department under George W. Bush. [ MUSIC ] It's not clear if the president can be indicted while in office. The general argument is that any suspected crimes are a political question that should be resolved by the impeachment process. White House lawyers have typically argued that the president can't be indicted, but admit the text of the Constitution doesn't answer the question. The Justice Department has argued both sides in legal briefs over the years, and the Supreme Court has never ruled definitively on the subject. Either way, the question of Trump's future as president would still rest with Congress, which alone has the power to remove him from office [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5311182/donald-trump-self-pardon-poll/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5311182/donald-trump-self-pardon-poll/"},"headline":"President Trump Says He Can Pardon Himself. 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