Advertisements

On his MSNBC program The Beat, Ari Melber reported that Trump can’t pardon his way out of any state crimes committed in the Russia scandal and that one state attorney general is already looking their jurisdiction for potential Russia state crimes.

Video:

Advertisements

While discussing why Trump can’t pardon his way completely out of the Russia scandal, Melber said, “If Trump issues mass pardons, that legal door would be open in some states. A state may also obtain grand jury material if it shows a violation of state law, so if Mueller’s investigation ends, a state could pursue the transcripts of every Meuller interview before the grand jury and other evidence. In fact, I can report tonight that a source with knowledge of one state attorney general’s preparations tells me that that office is already looking at its potential jurisdiction for Russia related crimes.”

Trump can’t pardon his way out of this scandal. He might be able to deal with Mueller and potential federal charges, but he has no power to stop the states, and it’s a good guess that the state that is preparing for potential charges is New York, from filing charges against him if he manages to kill the federal investigation.

The collusion with Russia opened up a can of worms that is bigger than anything Trump can handle. Trump is obsessed with Mueller, but his real problem will be that issuing mass pardons will result in a slew of state charges against Trump scandal figures. The acceptance of a pardon is an admission of guilt, which means that Trump’s pardon scheme could backfire and send the President and his family to state prison.