US justice system: Trump: self-pardon “very unlikely”

Former US President Donald Trump has left it open whether he would pardon himself if he were convicted and would return to the White House. “Oh, I think that’s very unlikely. What – what did I do wrong? I didn’t do anything wrong,” Trump said in an interview broadcast on NBC News over the weekend.

The Republican pointed out that he did not preemptively pardon himself shortly before leaving the White House in January 2021 to protect himself from prosecution. Trump told his advisers at the time: “The last thing I would ever do is pardon myself.”

Question about third term

There are now four criminal proceedings against the 77-year-old. He wants to run for the Republicans again in the presidential election next November.

According to experts, if he wins the election after being convicted at the federal level, he could probably pardon himself. But that is likely to trigger major political upheavals. If convicted at the state level – such as in the Trump cases in New York and Georgia – he would not be able to pardon himself.

When asked by journalist Kristen Welker whether there was a scenario in which Trump would seek a third term, Trump said “no.” In the United States, a person can serve as president for two four-year terms, whether consecutive or not.

Trump reiterates election lie

In the more than hour-long interview, Trump repeatedly repeated the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and that he was the actual winner – not Democrat Joe Biden.

The Republican Trump usually gives interviews to conservative media such as Fox News. The most recent exception was a so-called town hall with CNN, for which the station, which was considered liberal, was criticized. NBC is also considered to be rather liberal.