Trump asserts all agree he has ‘complete power’ to pardon Donald Trump
Donald Trump

Donald Trump

Washington — President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he has “complete power” to issue pardons, an assertion that comes amid investigations into Russian interference in last year’s presidential election. It was one of many topics that appeared to occupy the president’s mind as the day broke.

On a day when most people are ready to forget about the issues that nagged them during the week, Trump revved up. In an early morning flurry of 10 tweets, he commented about pardons, former presidential rival Hillary Clinton, son Don Jr., health care, the USS Gerald Ford, the attorney general and other issues.

Trump said in one of his 10 messages: “While all agree the US President has the complete power to pardon, why think of that when only crime so far is LEAKS against us. FAKE NEWS.”

The Washington Post recently reported that Trump has inquired about the authority he has as president to pardon aides, relatives or even himself in connection with the widening investigation into Russian interference in the election and whether any Trump associates were involved.

The president has long criticised leaks of information about the investigation, and has urged authorities to prosecute leakers.

Trump maintains that no crimes have been committed.

One of Trump’s attorneys, Jay Sekulow, said the president has not discussed the issue of pardons with his outside legal team.

Next week, Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.; his son-in-law and White House adviser, Jared Kushner; and Paul Manafort, his former campaign chairman, are scheduled to appear before Senate committees investigating Russian meddling.

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!”

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

The FBI investigated Clinton for using a private email server as secretary of state. She turned over thousands of pages of emails to the government, but deleted thousands of others that she said were personal or unrelated to her work as the nation’s top diplomat.

Trump also complained on Saturday about a Washington Post report that the Russian ambassador to the US said he discussed election-related issues with Jeff Sessions when the men met during the 2016 presidential race. Sessions, now the attorney general, at the time was a US senator and foreign policy advisor to Trump.

Trump tweeted: “A new INTELLIGENCE LEAK from the Amazon Washington Post,this time against A.G. Jeff Sessions.These illegal leaks, like Comey’s, must stop!”

The Post on Friday cited anonymous US officials who described US intelligence intercepts of Ambassador Sergey Kislyak’s descriptions of his meetings with Sessions.

The Justice Department said Sessions stands by his previous assertion that he never had conversations with Russian officials about any type of interference with the election.

Trump also said “Republican Senators must step up to the plate and, after 7 years, vote to Repeal and Replace” the Obama-era health care law. An effort to advance legislation collapsed in the Senate earlier this week after several Republicans said they wouldn’t vote for the bill. Trump ended the tweet with “Tax Reform and Infrastructure. WIN!”

Meanwhile, US Congressional Republicans and Democrats announced on Saturday they had reached an agreement on a sweeping Russia sanctions package to punish Moscow for meddling in the presidential election and its military aggression in Ukraine and Syria.

Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 House Democrat, said lawmakers had settled lingering issues with the bill, which also includes stiff economic penalties against Iran and North Korea.

The United States’ sanctions targeting Russia, however, have drawn the most attention due to President Donald Trump’s persistent push for warmer relations with President Vladimir Putin and ongoing investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 campaign.

Passage of the bill, which could occur before congress breaks for the August recess, puts Capitol Hill on possible collision course with Trump. The White House had objected to a key section of the bill that would mandate a congressional review if Trump attempted to ease or end the sanctions against Moscow.

But if Trump were to veto the bill, he risks sparking an outcry from Republicans and Democrats and having his decision overturned.

The sanctions review was included in the bill because of wariness among lawmakers from both parties over Trump’s affinity for Putin.

According to the bill, Trump is required to send congress a report explaining why he wants to suspend or terminate a particular set of sanctions.

Lawmakers would then have 30 days to decide whether to allow the move or reject it.

The precise mechanics of how involved House Democrats would be in the review process had been a key sticking point, but Hoyer said he’s satisfied with the outcome.

“The legislation ensures that both the majority and minority are able to exercise our oversight role over the administration’s implementation of sanctions,” Hoyer said.

Senate Minority Leader Democrat Chuck Schumer called the sanctions legislation “strong” and he expected the legislation to be passed promptly.

“Given the many transgressions of Russia, and President Trump’s seeming inability to deal with them, a strong sanctions bill such as the one Democrats and Republicans have just agreed to is essential,” said Schumer.

The House and Senate negotiators addressed concerns voiced by American oil and natural gas companies that sanctions specific to Russia’s energy sector could backfire on them to Moscow’s benefit. The bill raises the threshold for when US firms would be prohibited from being part of energy projects that also included Russian businesses. – Al Jazeera

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