
Frank O. Bowman, III is a University of Missouri Curators’ Distinguished Professor and Floyd R. Gibson Missouri Endowed Professor of Law. Recently he has been writing about the issues that may arise if President Trump issues pardons to his family and associates, or perhaps even to himself. The results of his research are in the article, “Presidential Pardons and the Problem of Impunity,” scheduled for publication in the N.Y.U. Journal of Legislation and Public Policy. He also provides expert commentary to national media on the topic of presidential pardons, included below.
In Print/Online:
The Hill, Jan. 20, 2021: Trump’s pardons harshly criticized by legal experts
Reuters, Jan. 16, 2021: Explainer: Can Trump Pardon Himself? Would the Courts Reject the Move?
Law and Crime, Jan. 8, 2021: It Doesn’t Look Like Trump Can Pardon Himself for Wrongdoing Connected to Capitol Chaos
Law and Crime, Dec. 24, 2020: Legal Experts Destroy Wishful Thinking That Trump’s Pardons May Be Invalidated
Newsweek, Dec. 18, 2020: Trump Won’t Pardon His Family Because They May Testify Against Him, Says Ex-lawyer
GEN.medium.com, Dec. 16, 2020: Your Most Paranoid Questions About Trump’s Pardons, Answered
The Washington Times, Dec. 14, 2020: Potential Trump self-pardon on shaky legal ground as left-leaning prosecutors loom
Blog for Arizona, Dec. 11, 2020: Constitutional Law Professors Debate Whether Trump Can Pardon Himself
WUSA9.com, Dec. 7, 2020: VERIFY: What are the president’s pardon powers?
Law.com | The National Law Journal, Dec. 4, 2020: With Trump Presidency Nearing End, Can He Pardon Himself?
CNN.com, Dec. 2, 2020: Can Trump Pre-Pardon His Children?
The New York Times, Dec. 2, 2020: Can Trump Pre-emptively Pardon Allies or Himself? Clemency Power, Explained references Professor Bowman’s Nov. 24 op-ed in Just Security
The Boston Globe, Dec. 2, 2020: Can Trump Do That? 5 Things to Know About Presidential Pardons
The New York Times, Nov. 25, 2020: Trump’s Pardon of Flynn Signals Prospect of a Wave in His Final Weeks in Office references Professor Bowman’s article
PolitiFact, Nov. 24, 2020: Ask PolitiFact: Can Donald Trump Pardon Himself?
The Atlantic, Nov. 21, 2020: The 3 Norms That Trump Could Still Break
Op-Eds:
Just Security, Dec. 14, 2020: The Constitutionality of Non-Specific Pardons
Slate, Dec. 2, 2020: Trump’s Family Pardon Plan Might Make Him a Bigger Criminal Target
Just Security, Nov. 24, 2020: Why a Self-Pardon Is Not Constitutional
Slate, Nov. 24, 2020: Donald Trump Might Want to Think Twice Before Trying to Pardon Himself (this is a syndication of the Just Security piece)
On Air:
KSRO-AM, Sonoma County, Calif., Dec. 3, 2020: INTERVIEW: Frank Bowman On The Pardoning Power Of The President
Bloomberg Law Podcast, Dec. 2, 2020: Trump Can’t Pardon Himself, But Will He?
Bloomberg Radio, Dec. 2, 2020: Trump Cannot Constitutionally Pardon Himself: Bowman (Radio)