The White House has been forced to deny reports that President Donald Trump was investigating ways of pardoning himself and his family, after The Washington Post quoted several sources inside the Trump team as saying the president wanted to clear his name.

No president has ever sought to pardon himself before, and so the legality of any such move remains unclear.

But the paper reported that one person inside Mr Trump's legal team said the president has asked his advisers about his power to pardon aides, family members and even himself in connection with Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian hacking of the election.