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Senior washington correspondent hallie jackson has more. >> it's a question that's never been asked before, because it happened happened before. could a president pardon themselves for their own crimes? former president trump thought so. back in 2018 talking about allegations he colluded with russia. >> i do have an absolute right to pardon myself, but i'll never have to do, it because i didn't do anything wrong. and everybody knows. it >> experts say the potential for a self pardon is not so clear. >> a lot is left open to interpretation. >> we just have to wait and see. >> we would have to l...

Have power to grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment. that is it. nothing on self pardons. the justice department tried to clear things up back in 1974. right before richard nixon got impeached. in a memo, the doj determined, basically no, a president cannot self pardon, because no one can be a judge in their own case. >> just like we don't let people be the prosecutor or the judge or the jury in their own case, the argument goes, you can't be the pardon error in your own. case >> reporter: since then, that legal opinion has never been tested. until maybe now. if mr. trump were to win t...

Was asked specifically can the president offer a pardon to someone so they don't testify against them that i think a lot of people are scratching their heads about this morning. is it surprising that brett kavanaugh did not answer that question? >> no, it is not surprising because he took the safe route, don't answer any controversial questions, but he is correct that the issue of self-pardons and pardons in exchange for some quid pro quo are issues that have never really come before not only the supreme court but arguably any court, maybe even including state courts. it is an issue that hasn'...

But the notion of family or self-pardons have never been on the table before. >> it's never been on the table before. and i'm not going to give don mcgahn the credit that he just got. i actually think if you're being the lawyer that mcgahn has already been which is a on trump mission and an aggressive lawyer for donald trump, he was his campaign lawyer and he was very aggressive with the sec, this is a guy who, if he is doing his job, which i think he did in this instance, is say don't do it because it's actually going to beef up the case against you. not just because i'm really trying to prot...

To decide a similar case because we know some of their thought process processes. >> we've never had a president who has been named a subject in a criminal investigation who has the people around him guilty pleas under investigation, he's talking about self pardons, ands, we've never had a president in that situation name a supreme court justice who could -- let me finish my sentence. no. president clinton was not a named subject in a criminal investigation at the time. bob mueller has said, president trump, you are a subject. that means the investigation is speeding down on trump. he's pickin...