CCL President Robert S. Peck explained the scope of the pardon power and the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment's Expulsion Clause in separate media interviews today.
To WUSA-9, the Washington, D.C. CBS affiliate, Peck explained that presidential pardon authority is very broad, but was not limitless. He said that the pardon authority can only reach federal crimes, not state criminal violations, could not deter impeachment and conviction, and could not absolve someone of a crime before it occurred. He noted the absence of precedent for a presidential self-pardon and disagreement among scholars, but sided with those who believe a self-pardon is antithetical to both text and practice.
Peck also told Politifact that the Fourteenth Amendment's Expulsion Clause provides a basis for excluding those from federal office who violated their oath to defend and protect the Constitution by encouraging, aiding, or even applauding those who mounted an insurrection in an attempt to prevent Congress from totalling the certified electoral votes. Moreover, he suggested that those who continued to perpetrate the false narrative of a stolen election after the assualt on the Capitol provided the type of "aid and comfort" and encouragement of further acts of violence and intimidation that undermine the theory of our democracy and also qualify under Section 3's terms for expulsion.
Share »