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It remains our position that the President’s actions here, by virtue of his position as the chief law enforcement officer, could neither constitutionally nor legally constitute obstruction because that would amount to him obstructing himself, and that he could, if he wished, terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon if he so desired.
This is a striking line — and an ambiguous one. Mr. Trump’s lawyers may be suggesting that he had the lawful power to shut down the investigation into the national security adviser at the time, Michael T. Flynn, or even to pardon Mr. Flynn if he wanted — so that whatever he said to Mr. Comey about that case could not have amounted to obstruction. But the sentence may also leave open the possibility that he could order the obstruction investigation into himself shut down or even pardon himself. No president has ever purported to pardon himself, and it is unclear whether he could.
This is a striking line — and an ambiguous one. Mr. Trump’s lawyers may be suggesting that he had the lawful power to shut down the investigation into the national security adviser at the time, Michael T. Flynn, or even to pardon Mr. Flynn if he wanted — so that whatever he said to Mr. Comey about that case could not have amounted to obstruction. But the sentence may also leave open the possibility that he could order the obstruction investigation into himself shut down or even pardon himself. No president has ever purported to pardon himself, and it is unclear whether he could.
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