
Donald Trump has reportedly told officials he will pardon them if they break the law to build his border wall.
The president is frustrated at the slow progress on one of his key policies ahead of the 2020 election, according to The Washington Post.
And his plan to speed up the building of the wall is reported to include disregarding environmental rules and seizing private land for construction.
When Trump’s aides expressed concerns that the plans were potentially illegal, the president reportedly told them, “Don’t worry, I’ll pardon you”.
It’s not entirely clear what counts as a “high crimes and misdemeanors” for impeachment as the term is left fairly ambiguous, but encouraging your staff to break the law would seem like a pretty straightforward case…
This is, I think, pretty unambiguously a high crime/misdemeanor https://t.co/vrT1ZDPQ3z— Chris Hayes (@Chris Hayes) 1566959537
This is an impeachable offence. And if Congress doesn't impeach Trump, they are complicit. https://t.co/cFQGyf1WXl— Jeet Heer (@Jeet Heer) 1566962729
This would make a great article of impeachment https://t.co/4s33hckgfV— Karen Schwartz (@Karen Schwartz) 1566959444
When asked for comment by The Post, a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Trump was joking about the pardons.
That's not a very reassuring response.
Meanwhile, Axios reported this week that no new sections of Trump’s wall have been built so far in his presidency.
Although more than 60 miles of existing barriers and fences have been replaced with new wall but there has been no extension of the border barriers.
So far in Trump's presidency, more than 60 miles of existing barriers and fences have been replaced with new wall.… https://t.co/fTCtNY4GeH— Axios (@Axios) 1566776280
“Replace the fence” doesn’t have the same ring to it as “Build the wall”…