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Sen. Rand Paul said Sunday that President Trump likely has the power to pardon himself under the U.S. Constitution.

The Kentucky Republicans interpretation of the Constitution comes after the president tweeted Saturday about having the complete power to pardon, and after The Washington Post reported that Mr. Trump discussed pardons with his advisers.

The question about whether Mr. Trump has the authority to pardon himself is being debated as the investigation into connections between his campaign and the Russian government during the 2016 election heats up.

I think, in all likelihood, he does, Mr. Paul said during an interview on CNNs State of the Union. I think that some of this hasnt been adjudicated.

Mr. Paul said he understands the president is frustrated with the constant allegations of collusion, but he cautioned him from thinking about pardoning family members or himself.

But Jay Sekulow, one of Mr. Trumps lawyers, said the issue would likely end up at the U.S. Supreme Court, and he told ABCs This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos that no one from the legal team is researching pardoning powers for the president.

The issue of pardons is not on the table. Theres nothing to pardon from, Mr. Sekulow said Sunday. Were not researching it, I havent researched it because its not an issue were concerned with or dealing with.

Mr. Trump said in one of his tweets on Saturday: While all agree the U. S. President has the complete power to pardon, why think of that when only crime so far is LEAKS against us.FAKE NEWS.

According to The Post report, Mr. Trump has inquired about the authority he has as president to pardon aides, relatives or even himself.

Congressional lawmakers say Mr. Trumps eldest son and his former campaign chairman wont be forced to testify publicly this week as part of the Russia election meddling investigation. Donald Trump Jr. and former campaign Chairman Paul Manafort are discussing undergoing a private interview with the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The committees chairman, Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, and top Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, also say they are negotiating with Mr. Trump Jr. and Mr. Manafort about possibly turning over documents.

Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law and top White House aide, is scheduled to speak behind closed doors with the Senate Intelligence Committee on Monday and the House intelligence committee on Tuesday.

Mr. Trump defended his son in one of the tweets, saying he openly gave his e-mails to the media & authorities whereas Crooked Hillary Clinton deleted (& acid washed) her 33,000 e-mails!

Mr. Trumps eldest son has become a focus of the investigation after it was revealed that he, Mr. Kushner and Mr. Manafort met with Russian representatives at Trump Tower in June 2016. Mr. Trump Jr. later released email exchanges concerning the meeting on Twitter, after learning that The New York Times was about to publish them.

This article includes wire service reports.

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Rand Paul: Trump likely has ability to pardon himself - Washington Times

Sen. Rand Paul said Sunday that savings from buying foreign-made goods "allows working-class people to have savings to get a television set, to go on vacation, to buy gas for their truck." | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said Sunday theres a reason why buying American-made goods is not always the best option: cost.

You know, I think all of us have this goal to buy American, but we have to think this thing through, Paul told Jake Tapper on CNNs "State of the Union."

Story Continued Below

Tapper was pressing Paul on why President Donald Trump touted "Made in the USA" goods all week but still hires foreign workers at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida. Tapper also noted that Trump's company manufacturers a bevy of Trump-branded clothing products abroad.

The libertarian-leaning Paul said global trade, the same kind that candidate Trump slammed for ripping off the U.S., allows Americans to buy cheaper goods, stretching their dollars so they can then pay for things like a vacation or a new vehicle.

It used to be a shirt, just a regular button-up shirt, might be $20, $25, and still might be in places. And at Wal-Mart, it's $7," Paul said. "And so that savings, though, allows working-class people to have savings to get a television set, to go on vacation, to buy gas for their truck. So trade is really a good thing.

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As a candidate, Trump defended his decision to manufacture some of his own products abroad, especially apparel, characterizing himself as someone who was simply making smart business decisions based on the costs.

In response to Paul's answer, Tapper noted that the members of Mar-a-Lago, where "the membership fee is $200,000 a year," were not in the same situation as average American workers.

Paul, who ran against Trump for the GOP presidential nomination, did concede that using foreign workers at Mar-a-Lago was "different," but he did not elaborate.

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Rand Paul: Buying American isn't necessarily the right choice - Politico - Politico

Sen. Rand Paul said Sunday that President Trump likely has the power to pardon himself under the U.S. Constitution.

The Kentucky Republicans interpretation of the Constitution comes after the president tweeted about having the complete power to pardon on Saturday, and after The Washington Post reported that Mr. Trump discussed pardons with his advisers.

The question about whether Mr. Trump has the authority to pardon himself is being debated as the investigation into whether his campaign colluded with the Russian government during the 2016 election heats up, and it has legal scholars debating the issue.

I think in all likelihood he does, Mr. Paul said during an interview on CNNs State of the Union. I think that some of this hasnt been adjudicated.

Mr. Paul said he understands the president is frustrated with the constant allegations of collusion, but he cautioned him from thinking about pardoning family members or himself.

But Jay Sekulow, one of Mr. Trumps lawyers, said the issue would likely end up at the U.S. Supreme Court, and he told ABCs This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos that no one from the legal team is researching pardoning powers for the president.

The issue of pardons is not on the table. Theres nothing to pardon from, Mr. Sekulow said Sunday. Were not researching it, I havent researched it because its not an issue were concerned with or dealing with.

See the rest here:
Sen. Rand Paul says President Trump likely has authority to pardon himself - Washington Times

Sen. Rand PaulRand PaulThe Hill's 12:30 Report Senate heads to new healthcare vote with no clear plan Overnight Healthcare: CBO predicts 22M would lose coverage under Senate ObamaCare replacement MORE (R-Ky.) is opening the door to helping GOP leadership get a healthcare bill over a key procedural hurdle.

The Kentucky Republican said on Thursday that he would support the motion to proceed to the House-passed healthcare bill, which is being used as a vehicle for any action, if he could get a deal on amendments.

"If they want my vote, they have to at least agree that we're going to at least have a vote on clean repeal," Paul told reporters.

"I think they're pretty equal in support. Let's do a random selection. Let's have three or four of them, put them in random order, the first day, equal billing. I think that's a compromise. I'm willing to get on the bill," he said.

Senators are expected to hold a procedural vote on Tuesday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellMitch McConnellParliamentarian deals setback to GOP repeal bill OPINION | How Democrats stole the nation's lower federal courts Flight restrictions signal possible August vacation for Trump MORE (R-Ky.) will need the support of at least 50 GOP senators to take up the House bill and let senators offer amendments, including clean repeal, the Better Care Reconciliation Act or other proposals.

Three GOP senators have said they would not take up the bill if it's to proceed to a repeal-only proposal. Paul and GOP Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) do not support the Senate GOP repeal-and-replace plan.

Paul is widely viewed as one of the most entrenched"no" votes within the GOP caucus on healthcare. If leadership is able to win him over, it could bolster their chances to at least debate if not ultimately pass healthcare legislation.

McConnell's math is even narrower with Sen. John McCainJohn McCainSen. Flake's GOP challenger: McCain should resign The Hill's 12:30 Report Armed Services leaders appoint strategy panel members MORE (R-Ariz.), who announced on Wednesday night that he had been diagnosed with brain cancer, out of Washington. It's unclear when he will return.

With McCain absent and all other 99 senators voting, McConnell can only afford to lose one GOP senator.

Paul stressed that he was not yet on board with voting "yes" on the initial hurdle, adding that there has been "resistance" to his idea.

If the Senate is able to take up the House bill any senator will be able to offer an amendment under an hours-long "vote-a-rama," but Paul said he wanted a guarantee his amendment wouldn't get buried in a "four in the morning" vote.

"Up front we have a vote on clean repeal, and maybe BRCA, and maybe Collins-Cassidy. I think the major proposals could be put at the very front. We debate them on the first day," he said.

GOP leadership signaled that they might not know what the ultimate outcome will be, repeal-only or repeal-and-replace, until after they get on the House bill.

"Asking what the first amendment is going to be actually misses the point, because anybody that's got a better idea can offer that and nobody can stop them," said Sen. John CornynJohn CornynSenators who have felt McCain's wrath talk of their respect for him Senate heads to new healthcare vote with no clear plan McCain absence adds to GOP agendas uncertainty MORE (R-Texas).

Link:
Rand Paul opens door to backing healthcare bill on key hurdle - The Hill (blog)

Earlier in the week, it looked like the Senate healthcare bill -- the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) -- was dead and buried. That very well may still end up being the case, but perhaps rumors of the proposal's death have been premature. According to multiple reports, Republican Senators are still in talks to revive the effort, with some signs of incremental progress starting to emerge. It sounds like developments are still quite some distance away from a House-style bounce-back, but it still sounds like marginal progress. First, Rand Paul -- who's faced some heat for his at-times contradictory intransigence -- appears willing to throw an important procedural bone to his fellow Kentuckian, Mitch McConnell:

Additional details from The Hill:

This strikes me as constructive and fair. Rather than debating nothing, upper chamber Republicans would consider a number of options, including (presumably) a finalized version of the still-evolving BCRA. Speaking of which, a new CBO score of the bill didn't result in too many changes -- people are again seizing on it to perpetuate the "22 million lose coverage" myth -- with one potentially-significant exception. McConnell has opted to leave a few more Obamacare taxes in place, freeing up more on-paper dollars to address concerns raised by moderate holdouts:

This appears to confirm whispers about GOP leaders' next move, first reported earlier in the week:

In a bold move to revive their healthcare bill, Senate Republican leaders are getting ready to propose giving $200 billion in assistance to states that expanded Medicaid, according to a person familiar with internal Senate negotiations. The huge sum would be funded by leaving in place ObamaCares net investment income tax and its Medicare surtax on wealthy earners, according to the source briefed on the proposalThe source said the aid would be targeted primarily at Medicaid expansion states, adding it would be distributed on the back end of the bills timeline, when the legislation would phase out the generous federal contribution for expanded Medicaid enrollment a central pillar of ObamaCare. The goal is winning the support of wavering moderate Republicans who will make or break the legislation...

On one hand, this move could pay double dividends. It would help assuage centrists who are worried about the (needed and fair) Medicaid reforms, while also eliminating two "tax cuts" (really reversals of tax increases) that Democrats have argued are sweetheart deals for the rich. On the other hand, with Paul still almost certainly in the "no" camp on final passage, joining at least Susan Collins and Mike Lee, McConnell is stallion grave danger of falling short of the requisite 50 votes -- a challenge made more difficult by John McCain's indefinite absence. Someone like Mike Lee's vote is likely essential for the legislation to have any chance of passage. How does greasing moderates' skids with more tax dollars help attract skeptical conservatives? Don't they need policy sweeteners, too? Ed Morrissey addressed this 'see-saw' problem yesterday:

That may appeal to the moderates, but the conservatives wont like it at all. They want the savings to go toward tax reform, which the savings from necessary Medicaid reforms will help buffer. While there is enough deficit improvement from these reforms to allow for horse-trading at this level, its about all McConnell can afford to give up while still qualifying the BCRA under reconciliation, and it could complicate the tax-reform effort that is next on the Republican agenda. Its tough to imagine Mike Lee and Ted Cruz coming along for this buyoff, let alone Rand Paul and if they dont, then the whole effort is pointless.

Cruz seems willing to play ball so long as his amendment survives, but Lee broke ranks on this front a few nights ago. Winning him over is just as crucial as bringing Capito or Heller into the fold. Perhaps if the chips are down and the Texan is satisfied with imperfect compromises, he can convince his Utah ally to hold his nose and pass something that improves upon the failing Obamacare status quo. Step one is getting onto the bill, which is by no means a foregone conclusion at all, even with Paul's concession. With votes supposedly scheduled for next Tuesday, let's stand by for updates. I'll leave you with this brutal takedown of baseless anti-BCRA propaganda offered by a former top Obama healthcare official. Cynical lies or revealing ignorance? Take your pick:

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Movement: Rand Paul Now Open to Motion to Proceed, McConnell Adds Medicaid Funding to Woo Moderates - Townhall