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President Donald Trump asserted that he has the “absolute right” to pardon himself. However, he made it clear that he will not do that because he has “done nothing wrong.” Trump made the statement in a tweet on Monday morning after the New York Times published a confidential letter over the weekend.  

As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong? In the meantime, the never ending Witch Hunt, led by 13 very Angry and Conflicted Democrats (& others) continues into the mid-terms!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2018

In the letter, Trump’s legal team argued to Special Counsel Robert Mueller that the Constitution provided the President with a broad authority. Therefore, he cannot obstruct any aspect of the investigation into Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election. According to Trump’s lawyers, the Constitution empowers the President to “if he wished, terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon.” On Sunday, Rudy Giuliani, a member of Trump’s legal team, ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that Trump “probably does” have the power to pardon himself. However, he said the President “has no intention of pardoning himself.” Additionally, Giuliani said, "I think the political ramifications of that would be tough. Pardoning other people is one thing. Pardoning yourself is another.” On the Mark Osler, a former federal prosecutor who runs a commutations clinic at the University of St. Thomas, said the most controversial question is not the pardon but its consequence. Osler told CNBC, He can issue himself a pardon warrant. There is nothing to stop him from doing so. The question is what happens next. It could be that it could not be challenged until a prosecutor presented a charge against him, and he relied on the pardon as a defense."

Trump already pardoned six people

Last week, Trump pardoned conservative pundit Dinesh D’Souza, who was convicted of making illegal campaign contributions. D’Souza is the sixth person who received a presidential pardon since Trump took office. The President is considering pardoning Martha Stewart, who was convicted in 2004 for making false statements, conspiracy and obstruction in connection with an insider trading investigation. He is also considering commuting the sentence of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was found guilty of corruption. Blagojevich received a sentence of 14 years in prison.