Is Donald Trump Involved In Pardon Bribery Scheme

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What has happened?

The US Justice Department is investigating an alleged bribery scheme,
That was directing money to officials in the White House in exchange for a presidential pardon or commutation, according to recently released court documents.
The latest disclosure comes amid a flurry of reports suggesting that President Trump is considering abusing his clemency power by pardoning members of his family and his closest aides during his final days in the White House.

All presidents of the United States have the constitutional right to pardon or commute the sentence of people who have broken federal laws.
The US’ Supreme Court had held that this power is “granted without limit” and cannot be restricted by Congress.
The President has the power to pardon individuals for nearly any crime committed in the country.
He is not answerable for his pardons, and does not even have to provide a reason for issuing one.

There are a few limitations.
The President cannot issue a pardon in the case of impeachment of officials.
Article II, Section 2 of the United States’ Constitution says that all presidents “shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment”.
Further, the power only applies to federal crimes and not state crimes.
Therefore, even if he were somehow pardoned, President Trump would still have to face state investigations into his finances and business dealings.
Earlier this year, he commuted the prison sentence of his long-time ally Roger Stone, who was convicted of lying to Congress and witness tampering in 2019.

The heavily redacted documents, made public by the Washington DC District Court on Tuesday afternoon, state that,
Investigators were looking into a “bribery conspiracy scheme in which [redacted] would offer a substantial political contribution,
In exchange for a presidential pardon or reprieve of sentence.
While the filings do not reveal a timeline of the scheme and the names of the people who are believed to have been involved have been blacked out,
Prosecutors say that the data points to potential “criminal activity”.
According to the investigators, the convict seeking the pardon was probably arrested earlier this year.
Two people working on behalf of the convict may have been part of a secret lobbying campaign that involved approaching White House officials.
The two people could have offered to transfer money in the form of political donations in exchange for a presidential pardon, the documents claim.

According to the New York Times, Trump has not been directly linked to the scheme.
In fact, the US justice department has confirmed to Reuters that no government official is the “subject or target” of the bribery probe.
In a tweet shared soon after the documents were released on Tuesday, President Trump dismissed reports of the Justice Department’s investigation.

Q) Which of the following statements regarding Pardoning Power of the President in India is correct?

The President cannot exercise his power of pardon without the advice of the Council of Ministers.
The President cannot return the advice of the Council of Ministers.