Pardon me!

It is being reported that the so-called President is considering pardoning his aides, relatives and even himself.

Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution: "The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment."

Please note that Pardons are to be granted for "Offences against the United States." This would seem to imply that only the guilty could be pardoned - not the innocent or those not convicted of a crime. You cannot pardon someone in advance for no particular offense or reason. They would have had to do something that the pardoner and pardoned would be acknowledging was wrong and illegal.

Thus a pardon would seem to be an admission of guilt if it is accepted BEFORE someone is even charged with a crime which then should be justification for impeachment if they are an elected official, such as the so-called President pardoning himself.

Also, anyone who has been pardoned cannot then use the 5th Amendment to refuse to answer questions oath that would incriminate themselves because they have no legal jeopardy at that point. Their only jeopardy would then be perjury. If they are then pardoned for perjury, that should also be justification to impeach the pardoner and the perjurer.

In other words, a pardon is not a perfect solution for the so-called President UNLESS the Republican majority in Congress has not shred of integrity. Unfortunately, that may be possible.