The same way as if he had been charged. Because Presidents can pardon someone who has not been formally charged. Formal charges have never been necessary for a pardon. Presidents have often given pardons without formal charges. Carter pardoned all Vietnam War draft dodgers, most of whom weren't even accused yet, and without even having a list of their names -- it was just a general pardon for all violations of a specific law, without even identifying whom he was pardoning. Ford pardoned Nixon for any crimes he might have committed as President, without even specifying what those crimes were, and again without any formal charges.
A sitting president cannot be convicted, so he cannot pardon himself if he has not been convicted. Even if you wanted to pardon himself, he would have to admit to the crimes for which he was pardoning himself, so it does not work.
After he leaves office, all the charges are going to come up, and by then it is going to be too late for anyone to pardon him, except the next republican president, so not for a few years.
The real reason is nobody knows if he can. Whether a President can pardon himself and whether you can pardon someone "prophylactically" isn't spelled out in the Constitution and the situation has never come up so know one knows if he can.
2- A pardon only applies to someone who's actually been convicted if a crime.
3- The charges Trump is facing (bribery, rape, money-laundering) can't be pursued until he leaves office. After his presidential indemnity lapses, Trump will find himself up Crap Creek.
1. You are correct. He hasn't been formally charged yet as he can't be charged while still President.
2. The President can't pardon himself. It's one of the exceptions to the Constitution. Also, it's unnecessary because the President can't be charged unless he's no longer president.
So to be charged, Trump could no longer be president. If he's no longer president, he loses the power to pardon people. So he couldn't ever pardon himself.
Now...if Trump resigned the presidency BEFORE January 20, 2021, he could get charged but then Pence pardons him..
Answers & Comments
The same way as if he had been charged. Because Presidents can pardon someone who has not been formally charged. Formal charges have never been necessary for a pardon. Presidents have often given pardons without formal charges. Carter pardoned all Vietnam War draft dodgers, most of whom weren't even accused yet, and without even having a list of their names -- it was just a general pardon for all violations of a specific law, without even identifying whom he was pardoning. Ford pardoned Nixon for any crimes he might have committed as President, without even specifying what those crimes were, and again without any formal charges.
Don't worry. Most people missed it too. In particular, the journalists covering Trump missed it.
He cannot pardon himself. However, preemptive pardons are possible.
A sitting president cannot be convicted, so he cannot pardon himself if he has not been convicted. Even if you wanted to pardon himself, he would have to admit to the crimes for which he was pardoning himself, so it does not work.
After he leaves office, all the charges are going to come up, and by then it is going to be too late for anyone to pardon him, except the next republican president, so not for a few years.
He will move to Russia probably.
The real reason is nobody knows if he can. Whether a President can pardon himself and whether you can pardon someone "prophylactically" isn't spelled out in the Constitution and the situation has never come up so know one knows if he can.
1- A Prez cannot pardon himself.
2- A pardon only applies to someone who's actually been convicted if a crime.
3- The charges Trump is facing (bribery, rape, money-laundering) can't be pursued until he leaves office. After his presidential indemnity lapses, Trump will find himself up Crap Creek.
Well, he can offer a pardon to himself by resigning from office, allowing Mike Pence to become president and then making Mike Pence pardon him.
1. You are correct. He hasn't been formally charged yet as he can't be charged while still President.
2. The President can't pardon himself. It's one of the exceptions to the Constitution. Also, it's unnecessary because the President can't be charged unless he's no longer president.
So to be charged, Trump could no longer be president. If he's no longer president, he loses the power to pardon people. So he couldn't ever pardon himself.
Now...if Trump resigned the presidency BEFORE January 20, 2021, he could get charged but then Pence pardons him..
He can’t pardon himself - that would be an admission that he has committed crimes.
But we can expect to see him stand down and receive immunity from prosecution from President Pence.
He doesn't need to. If Democrats had a criminal charge against Trump they would have used it at their phony impeachment trial.