Justice Neil Gorsuch (left) (Photo by MELINA MARA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images), Justice Samuel Alito (right) (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Justice Neil Gorsuch was clear on Thursday during oral arguments over Donald Trump’s immunity claims that he really doesn’t want to see the day a sitting president attempts a self-pardon, since that would force the justices to make a decision on that unprecedented issue. But as arguments went on, Justice Samuel Alito put a DOJ lawyer on the spot and asked him to reveal the government’s view on the issue in real-time, suggesting it was key to “decide this case.”
Justice Gorsuch made his commentary on presidential self-pardons in passing while questioning Trump attorney John Sauer, stating that “happily” the high court has never had to answer whether a president has the power to wipe away their own federal criminal exposure.
