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[/news/donald_trump/index.html Donald Trump] lawyer [/news/rudy-giuliani/index.html Rudy Giuliani] has discussed a preemptive pardon for himself with President Donald Trump, it was reported Tuesday - even while arguing he can overturn the results of an 'illegitimate election.'
The former New York mayor has been the most vocal and out-front defender of Trump's unsubstantiated charges of [/news/2020-election/index.html election] fraud, seeking to persuade numerous states that went for [/news/joe-biden/index.html Joe Biden] to overturn their results.
But Giuliani and Trump also have discussed the former New York Mayor's future, the [ ] reports. 
The two men have discussed the topic in the past and it is not clear who brought up the idea. 
They discussed a possible pardon last week, two sources told the paper. 
On the day before Thanksgiving, Trump pardoned former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, who had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Russia contacts, then sought to withdraw the plea in court. 
President Donald Trump is said to have been asked by his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani for a pre-emptive pardon 
We can win: Rudy Giuliani has been publicly claiming that it is possible to overturn the election results - but asking for a pardon behind closed doors suggests he is not as confident as he wants people to believe


Giuliani has reportedly been under investigation by federal prosecutors in New York over his work in Ukraine, which became the heart of Trump's impeachment.
The impeachment revealed efforts by Giuliani and his associates to push out the former U.S.

ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch. 
Draft documents revealed last [ ] Giuliani seeking to have Ukrainian government officials pay substantial fees to his consulting firm, although there is no evidence the deals went through. 
Giuliani denied the report on Twitter.  '#FakeNews NYT lies again. Never had the discussion they falsely attribute to an anonymous source.

Hard to keep up with all their lies,' he wrote.
He represented Trump pro bono in his efforts to defend against the Democratic-led impeachment. 
The Times previously reported Giuliani is being paid $20,000 per day in his election defense, although he has denied that figure. 
On Monday, Giuliani associate Lev Parnas pleaded not guilty to defrauding in investors through the Florida-based company he set up, called Fraud Guarantee.
The Ukraine-born Parnas assisted Giuliani in his efforts to dig up dirt on the Bidens in Ukraine. 
Parnas tweeted Tuesday 'Pardons were always discussed in the #TrumpCult.

The question is will you accept one? Innocent people don't need a pardon.'
U.S. intelligence alerted the White House last year that a Russian intelligence officer was seeking to feed disinformation to Giuliani in his efforts to uncover information in Ukraine. 
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There is precedent for presidents using their virtually limitless pardon power preemptively.
Gerald Ford famously preemptively pardoned Richard Nixon, and paid a political price for it.
There has also been talk in legal circles about whether Trump could seek to issue a self-pardon in order to wipe away potential legal exposure for himself.

Even if it were upheld, Trump could still be subject to prosecution in state courts. New York investigators have already been investigating alleged possible insurance and financial fraud. 
Giuliani was in Arizona Monday attending a Republican-led hearing-style event where he laid out broad claims of election fraud even as the state's Republican governor certified the result[/news/fox-news/index.html Trump's pardon for Flynn offered a far-reaching assurance against prosecution.
Former Trump attorney Sidney Powell, pictured center, said although she believed the pardon was 'absolute' she did not know about the president's ability to pardon himself
In pardoning his former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, President Trump granted him broad protection against any future charges of perjury, which an outside counsel argued Flynn's attempt to change his plea amounted to
The text of President Trump's November 25 pardon of Michael Flynn was revealed Monday as prosecutors moved to have the case dropped as moot
The move by Giuliani came as Fox News][/news/fox-news/index.html Fox News] host Sean Hannity suggested [/news/donald_trump/index.html Trump] should pardon himself and his family before leaving the [/news/white-house/index.html White House] in January. 
The suggestion was made on Hannity's Fox News radio show on Monday while discussing how Trump last week announced a full pardon for his former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.
Speaking to former Trump attorney Sidney Powell - fired from Trump's 'elite strike force' legal team when her conspiracy theories went to far even for the president - Hannity suggested that the president needed to protect himself from future legal investigations in order to protect himself from the incoming Biden administration.
Hannity said that President-elect Joe Biden was being publicly encouraged to investigate and prosecute Trump for tour yên tử ba vàng any criminal misconduct while he was president.
'The president out the door needs to pardon his whole family and himself, because they want this witch hunt to go on in perpetuity.

They're so full of rage and insanity against the president,' Hannity said.
'I mean, I assume that the power of the pardon is absolute, and that he should be able to pardon anybody that he wants to?'   
'It is absolute it's in the Constitution,' Powell confirmed. 
Powell, who has been key to pushing an election conspiracy that corrupt voting machines stole the election from Trump, then added that she did not know about Trump's 'authority to pardon himself'.
Powell then went on to suggest that such a pardon should not be necessary because 'the president is going to get another four years in office to finish the job he started because the election fraud we're uncovering is massive.'
Donald Trump's pardon on Wednesday of his former national security adviser Michael Flynn kicked off speculation that a string of pardons could be next - including for the president and his family. 
Trump has granted clemency to supporters before, most notably earlier this year when he commuted the criminal sentence of Roger Stone, who was sentenced to prison after being convicted of lying under oath to lawmakers.
President Trump would have the right to pardon any family members as he sees fit.

Above, tour yên tử (From R) Barron Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, US President Donald Trump, Tiffany Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle, Lara Trump, Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Michael Boulos
The president is reported to have asked aides if he has the right to pardon himself and family members and has even asked if he could issue pardons pre-emptively for things people could be charged with in the future. 
In 2018, Trump even said he had the 'absolute right' to pardon himself - a claim many constitutional law scholars dispute.
After he pardoned Flynn, Trump shared a tweet on Wednesday from Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, tour chùa yên tử one of his closest allies on Capitol Hill, who said the president should also consider a pardon for himself.
'President Trump should pardon Flynn, the Thanksgiving turkey, and everyone from himself, to his admin, to Joe Exotic if he has to,' Gaetz wrote. 
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox news" data-version="2" id="mol-1d0d1070-33fd-11eb-96dc-7defd57b17af" website NEWS: Rudy Giuliani asked Trump about pre-emptive pardon