*【115-117】Can President Trump Pardon Himself?

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【115】 AS IT IS

Can President Trump Pardon Himself?

June 04, 2018

FILE - President Donald Trump arrives for a bill signing ceremony in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, May 30, 2018, in Washington. Trump says he has "absolute right to PARDON myself" but says has "done nothing wrong" in the Russia probe. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter Monday that he has the “absolute right” as president of the United States to pardon himself.

Trump also criticized the U.S. Justice Department for deciding to appoint a special counsel to investigate possible wrongdoing in the 2016 elections.

The president wrote, “As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong?”

--t1--

He added, “The appointment of the Special Counsel is totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL! Despite that, we play the game because I, unlike the Democrats, have done nothing wrong!”

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Trump’s comments came a day after his lawyer, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, said the president could pardon himself.

Giuliani’s comment is similar to a memo, published by The New York Times, from his lawyers to special counsel Robert Mueller. The letter claimed that Trump “could, if he wished, terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon if he so desired.”

Last May, the Justice Department named Mueller, a former head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), as special counsel. He and his team are investigating whether Russia and Trump’s presidential election campaign worked together to influence the 2016 vote.

Mueller has since charged several people connected to the Trump campaign. Others admitted guilt in court to making false statements to the FBI. The special counsel also brought charges against 13 Russians and three Russian companies with plotting to interfere in the election.

The issue of presidential pardons has been raised in recent weeks. The U.S. Constitution says the president “shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”

Since taking office, Trump has approved pardons for several people who are not connected to the Mueller investigation. The moves and his comments led to a question whether he can actually pardon himself.

FILE - Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs after briefing members of the U.S. Senate on his investigation into potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2017.

Can a president pardon himself?

Brian Kalt is a legal expert with the Michigan State University College of Law. He wrote about this subject in the 1990s during congressional efforts to remove President Bill Clinton from office.

Kalt said James Wilson, a founding father of the U.S., indirectly raised the issue at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

Kalt wrote that, “When the question of potential presidential self-dealing through the pardon power had been raised… Wilson had argued, the President was not above the law. As such, the pardon power could not protect him as it had (England’s) King Charles II.

The exact question of self-pardoning was not directly settled by the convention’s delegates. However, Kalt noted that self-pardons either were not considered or thought to be unacceptable.

In the end, “presidents cannot pardon themselves,” he wrote.

Judge Richard Posner wrote in a 1999 book about the Clinton case that the question was left open by the founding fathers. “It has generally been inferred from the breadth of the constitutional language that the president can indeed pardon himself,” Posner argued.

Samuel Morison once worked for the Justice Department as a lawyer and specialized in pardons. Last May, he told The Washington Post that a self-pardon could theoretically be done by a president.

He said, “My opinion is that in theory that he could. But then he would be potentially subject to impeachment for doing that.” Morison added that there is nothing “in the Constitution itself that says he can’t do that.”

FILE - Richard Nixon says farewell to his Cabinet, aides, and staff on August 9, 1974.

In 1974, President Richard Nixon reportedly asked for a legal opinion on self-pardon as he faced investigation. The president was accused of covering-up evidence of criminal activity.

Shortly before Nixon’s resignation from office, the Justice Department Office of Legal Council issued a memo on the subject. Acting Assistant Attorney General Mary Lawton wrote, “Under the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case, the President cannot pardon himself.”

In August 1974, Nixon resigned from the presidency. A month later, President Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon for any crimes he might have committed during the Watergate crisis. The former president was never charged or found guilty of federal crimes.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Hai Do wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Information about the presidential self-pardon debate came from Scott Bomboy of the National Constitution Center. George Grow was the editor.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

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Words in This Story

absolute - adj. complete and total

scholar - n. a person who has studied a subject for a long time

despite - preposition, used to say that something happens or is true

terminate - v. to end something

reprieve - n. an official order that delays punishment

impeachment - n. charge against a public official with a crime done while in office

infer - v. to reach a conclusion based on known facts

breadth - n. the wide scope or range of something

issue - v. to announce something in a public and official way

commit - v. to do something that is illegal or harmful

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【116】AS IT IS

More Than 60 Dead in Guatemala Following Volcanic Explosion

June 04, 2018

A local man carries his dog after rescuing him near the Volcan de Fuego, or "Volcano of Fire," in Escuintla, Guatemala, Monday, June 4, 2018. (AP Photo/Luis Soto)

Rescue workers pulled at least 10 people alive from ash and mud flows around Guatemala’s Volcan de Fuego on Monday.

The country’s national disaster agency reported at least 62 people have died since the volcano exploded Sunday. Officials say the number is expected to rise.

Volcan de Fuego means Volcano of Fire in English. It is one of several active volcanoes in Guatamala. It sits 44 kilometers west of Guatemala City, the country’s capital.

Rescue workers walk on rooftops in Escuintla, Guatemala, Monday, June 4, 2018, blanketed with heavy ash spewed by the Volcan de Fuego, or "Volcano of Fire," pictured in the background, left center. (AP Photo/Luis Soto)

The volcano sits close to Antigua, a former capital during Spanish colonial rule. The United Nations has recognized the town as a UNESCO world heritage site.

Ash fell Sunday on Guatemala City as well as nearby areas. Streets and houses in Antigua were also covered.

The explosion sent a huge cloud of ash several kilometers into the air. Extremely hot flows of ash mixed with water and debris, blocking some roads and burning homes.

Volcan de Fuego, or Volcano of Fire, blows outs a thick cloud of ash, as seen from Alotenango, Guatemala, Sunday, June 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Santiago Billy)

The land left behind was still too hot to touch or to recover bodies from many places. In some areas, rescue workers’ shoes even melted.

Hilda Lopez said the volcanic mud flowed into her village of San Miguel Los Lotes, close to the mountain. Lopez said she still does not know where her mother or sister are.

“We were at a party, celebrating the birth of a baby, when one of the neighbors shouted at us to come out and see the that lava was coming," Lopez remembered. “We didn’t believe it, and when we went out the hot mud was already coming down the street.”

“My mother was stuck there, she couldn’t get out,” said Lopez, crying and holding her face in her hands.

In the village of El Rodeo, people said they did not learn of the danger until it was too late. Some were critical of government officials.

Rafael Letran, who lives in El Rodeo, said the disaster agency “never told us to leave. When the lava was already here they passed by in their pickup trucks telling...us to leave, but the cars did not stop to pick people up.”

Neighbors stand outside a temporary resting place for the dead near Volcan de Fuego or Volcano of Fire in Alotenango, Guatemala, Sunday, June 3, 2018.

The disaster agency said more than 3,200 people had left affected areas.

Volcan de Fuego is one of Central America’s most active volcanoes. The very top of it reaches a height of 3,763 meters above sea level.

The eruption on Sunday was the volcano’s most powerful explosion in more than 40 years.

Ashley Thompson adapted this story for Learning English. Her story includes information from the Associated Press and Reuters. George Grow was the editor.

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Words in This Story

mud - n. soft, wet dirt

heritage - n. the traditions, achievements, beliefs, etc., that are part of the history of a group or nation — usually singular

site - n. the place where something (such as a building) is, was, or will be located

debris - n. the pieces that are left after something has been destroyed

lava - n. melted rock from a volcanoto send out rocks, ash, lava, etc., in a sudden explosion

eruption - n. a violent volcanic explosion that sends out rocks, ash, lava, etc.

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【117】AS IT IS

Rising China-US Tensions Affect Southeast Asia

June 04, 2018

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis (2nd-L) laughs with Southeast Asian defense ministers after their meeting at the 17th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-la Dialogue. (AP Photo/Yong Teck Lim)

An American promise to keep sailing navy ships through the South China Sea could fuel tensions between China and the United States.

China’s government has long claimed much of the sea. Observers say a military build-up there may hurt the interests of Southeast Asian countries.

Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said the United States will continue sending navy ships near islands in the disputed waterway.

China believes the U.S. actions are interference in Chinese waters.

China is the leading military force in the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea. Experts say China has landed a bomber and deployed missiles to small islands under its control because of the U.S. ship movement.

Five other Asian governments claim all or parts of the South China Sea. They oppose China’s military presence in the area. Yet they also want to build trade and investment links with China.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis speaks to reporters aboard a US military plane on May 29, 2018, as he flies to Hawaii.

"Currently, so far, it is a so-called new normal," Lin Chong-pin, said of the U.S. ship movement. Lin is a retired strategic studies professor in Taiwan. He added that the other governments are concerned, but they are very careful of what they say.

Continued U.S. ship movements

On May 27, U.S. Navy warships sailed near Chinese-occupied areas of the Paracel Islands, east of Vietnam.

China normally follows the movement of U.S. ships until they leave. The U.S. military calls these movements "freedom of navigation" operations.

The U.S. Navy has launched seven such operations since Donald Trump became president last year.

Eduardo Araral warns that this risks creating an environment of growing distrust between the militaries of both countries. Araral is with the public policy school at the National University of Singapore.

China is said to be developing three coral reefs in the sea's Spratly Islands to support military aircraft and weapons. That information comes from the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

China's Xinhua News Agency said last Saturday that the U.S. ship movement is an aggression against China’s sovereignty. It said the U.S. presence is the reason for China’s increased military presence in the South China Sea.

"For the Chinese, it's a matter of national pride," said Collin Koh, a security expert at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He added that if China does not take any action against the U.S. naval operations, it would be an insult to the Chinese Communist Party.

FILE - Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Fiery Cross Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in this still image from video taken by a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft provided by the United States N

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam each claim part of the South China Sea. Their militaries are weaker than that of China, but they still have an interest in the sea's natural resources, such as oil. They are unhappy with China for sending military equipment to the small islands.

Vietnam and the Philippines have claimed some of the islands that China has developed and militarized. They sharply criticized China in the past, but now communicate one-on-one with its government and through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. In return, China is urging people to visit Vietnam and invest development aid in the Philippines.

The U.S. government does not have a claim in the South China Sea, but sees it as an international waterway. At least one-third of the world's shipping traffic passes through the sea. Some experts believe Trump is using the ship movement to pressure China over two-way trade and its support for North Korea.

Building loyalty

The United States has suggested that its South China Sea activity can help the smaller Asian claimants to the South China Sea.

On June 2, Mattis and Vietnam’s defense minister spoke at the Shangri-la Dialogue military leadership talks in Singapore. They agreed that a strong defense relationship between their countries will support regional and international security, including in the South China Sea.

The U.S. Department of Defense website said that Mattis and the Philippines defense secretary agreed on the importance of keeping the Indo-Pacific Sea free and open.

Australia and Japan support the U.S. position of an open sea. The two countries are expected to send their own ships to the South China Sea. Japan, which has its own issues with China, is interested in defending Vietnam and the Philippines.

I’m Phil Dierking.

Ralph Jennings wrote this story for VOANews.com Phil Dierking adapted his story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

What do you think is the best way to keep the peace in the South China Sea? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

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Words in This Story

infrastructure - n. the basic equipment and structures (such as roads and bridges) that are needed for a country, region, or organization to function properly

navigate - v. to find the way to get to a place when you are traveling in a ship, airplane, car, etc.

pride - n. a feeling that you respect yourself and deserve to be respected by other people

reef - n. a long line of rocks or coral or a high area of sand near the surface of the water in the ocean

region - n. a part of a country, of the world, etc., that is different or separate from other parts in some way

strategic - adj. of or relating to a general plan that is created to achieve a goal in war, politics, etc., usually over a long period of time

resource - n. something that a country has and can use to increase its wealth

sovereignty - n. a country's independent authority and the right to govern itself

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