Article 2, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution gives Donald Trump, as President, the power to: “grant pardon or reprieves, except in cases of impeachment.” There is really no limit on this stated in the Constitution except for impeachment. But this doesn’t tell the whole story.

Was it legal for Trump to pardon Sheriff Joe? Yes, it was. Could Trump pardon every member of his family, either now or before leaving office (whenever that may be)? Yes he can. Could he pardon them when under impeachment proceedings and just before leaving office? Yes he could. All of these are legal under the Constitution.

BUT (there’s always a “but”…) Congress also has powers here. Congress can accuse him of obstructing justice. Or of abuse of power. Or of other high crimes and misdemeanors. And if they choose to do this, Congress has two possible remedies: first, to ask the Supremes to rule on the legality of the pardon. The Court *could* overturn any pardon on Constitutional grounds. Or second, to move to impeachment.

One more very technical question is whether Trump can pardon himself for past crimes (not including impeachment, of course). The answer to this is *probably* no, but again the Supremes would likely have to rule on it. The Constitution is silent here, but legal standards have always been that a person cannot act in this manner on their own case, so it is very likely even this Supreme Court would rule such a pardon illegal.

So where do we stand? Until the GOP Congress moves to stop him, Trump can pretty much pardon anyone he wants to for any reason. That certainly doesn’t make me feel better, how about you?