Hillary Clinton's growing legal troubles is prompting speculation that President Obama will pardon her like former President Gerald Ford did Richard Nixon, sparking a movement to stop Obama.

Already, supporters of the idea have started #PardonHillary on Twitter. Also trending, #IndictHillary.

Those concerned about a presidential pardon have already begun two Twitter threads, #DontPardonHillary and #NoHillaryPardon, and talk radio has turned its attention to the issue.

"I don't put anything past Obama," top-ranked radio talk show host Mark Levin told Secrets.

"He doesn't revere the Constitution, he abuses it. And Obama is all about power, ideology, and self-promotion. If he believes his agenda and legacy are threatened, he might pardon Hillary before he leaves office. And, like a good Alinskyite radical, he will fault the Republicans," he added.

If she's elected, Obama will pardon Hillary for her crimes re classified information. https://t.co/d1n2pefHmZ #DontPardonHillary. — Jed Babbin (@jedbabbin) October 31, 2016



Even though Clinton is unlikely to face any legal action before the election, or her inauguration if elected, Obama can still pardon her for potential legal entanglements, as Ford did for Nixon.

And if Donald Trump is elected, then Obama may feel compelled to act since the Republican has threatened jail. Said George Washington University law professor John Banzhaf, "A win by Donald Trump would create major legal risks for Clinton since it would greatly increase the chances of her indictment, and eventual conviction, because Trump has announced that he has pre-judged her guilt, and believes she should be in jail."

Clinton has another out, an 1873 decision by the House of Representatives that a president or vice president can't be impeached for conduct that occurred before the Inauguration.

And then there is the legality of pardoning herself as president. Banzhaf said, "If Clinton does become president, it would appear that she can legally pardon anyone, including herself, even before there is a trial or even an indictment."

Examiner contributor Jed Babbin, a lawyer and former Defense Department official, uncovered that fact and said it is unlikely that the House would move to impeach Clinton because of the precedent.

"That determination would not bind the new Congress to be sworn in next January. But who believes that Paul Ryan's House of Representatives would reverse it? No House of Representatives led by Nancy Pelosi would," he wrote in the American Spectator.

One thing would happen for sure: Trump and conservatives would charge that the system is rigged and a legal double standard is being created to help the Clintons.

"Clearly the president can pardon Hillary, but just as clearly such a pardon is not warranted. Everyone recognized that President Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich was corrupt. He had the absolute power to do it, but it stunk and it has tarnished his legacy. Obama will recognize that pardoning Hillary will be viewed as similarly corrupt," warned Mark Paoletta, former assistant counsel to George H.W. Bush. "If Trump wins, pardoning Hillary won't really help Obama's legacy, and will seriously tarnish it. You have some serious crimes alleged here. This short circuiting of this process will be seen as totally corrupt. And if Hillary wins, granting her a pardon will taint her with being a criminal before she even gets sworn into office," added Paoletta, who worked on pardons for Bush.

Levin urged the House to consider executive impeachment. "Should the Republicans hold the House, they must investigate Hillary, Inc., Loretta Lynch's role in obstructing investigations, etc., and seriously consider exercising the impeachment power. This is precisely why such authority was granted to the House. It's a perfectly legitimate legislative action to deal with a lawless executive."

Republican strategist Greg Mueller predicted political chaos. "If we think the American people are angry at Washington now a move like that would not only be destructive to Obama's legacy, if there is going to be one, but I would predict that a massive implosion of the Democratic Party would occur," he said.

Banzhaf also sees the potential for crisis, saying that a pardon "could easily blow up and create a constitutional crisis, especially since so many people apparently believe that the election is already 'rigged' - for Clinton and against Trump - and Trump has strongly hinted that he would fight anything which might purport to hand the presidency to Clinton."

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com