NY Attorney General Promotes Conspiracy Theory That Trump Will Step Down So Pence Can Pardon Him

Letitia James, the Attorney General of New York, said that President Trump will step down before January so that Mike Pence can pardon him.

James made the unfounded claim – without evidence – on ABC’s “The View” on Tuesday.

Potential Pardon Blitz From The President

As New York Attorney General, she is currently pursuing a civil case against President Trump, drawing from the President’s former disgraced lawyer, Michael Cohen’s, testimony about the Trump Organization inflating and deflating assets.

New York AG Letitia James: “What we are investigating is the fact that the Trump Organization inflated their assets for the purposes of obtaining loans and insurance coverage and deflated…the same assets for the purposes of avoiding and evading tax liability and/or limiting it” pic.twitter.com/GIbfdOd6Fy

— OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) December 4, 2020

Host Sara Haines brought up President Trump’s suspected “pardon blitz.”

Following his pardon of General Mike Flynn, media speculation has abounded about further possible pardons.

Pro-Trump Representative Matt Gaetz argued last month that President Trump should “wield that pardon power effectively and robustly.”

“President Trump should pardon Michael Flynn, he should pardon the Thanksgiving turkey, he should pardon everyone from himself, to his administration officials, to Joe Exotic if he has to,” Gaetz said.

“You see from the radical left a bloodlust that will only be quenched if they come after the people who worked so hard to animate the Trump administration with the policies and the vigor and the effectiveness that delivered for the American people,” he concluded.

RELATED: After Flynn, Speculation Mounts Over Possible Pardon Extravaganza From Trump

The President “Cannot Avoid Justice In The Great State Of New York”

On The View, Haines questioned as to whether President Trump could pardon himself.

James said that the “vast majority of legal scholars” have indicated this is not possible, despite having the power to pre-emptively pardon any other individuals, and would need to step down.

“What he could do is step down and allow Vice President Pence, to pardon him,” James said.

“In all likelihood, I suspect that he will pardon his family members, his children, his son-in-law, and individuals in his administration as well as some of his close associates. And then I suspect, at some point in time, he will step down and allow the vice president to pardon him.”

Neither the President, nor anyone in his close circle, has given any hint that he will “step down.” 

President Trump is currently pursuing legal action in several states over the election.

James then noted that a pardon would only extend to federal crimes, not state crimes.

“President Trump cannot avoid justice in the great state of New York,” James concluded.

You can watch the video of James here: 

.@NewYorkStateAG @TishJames tells @TheView she suspects Pres. Trump “will step down and allow the vice president to pardon him” before the end of his term as she says the “vast majority of legal scholars have indicated that he cannot pardon himself.” https://t.co/f8u2wbJuik pic.twitter.com/xeJwNtA4eH

— The View (@TheView) December 8, 2020

The New York Attorney General’s civil suit are not the only charges being pursued against the President in her state.

RELATED: Report: Democrats Plan To Pursue Investigations Into President Trump After He Leaves Office

The Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus R Vance Jr, is also investigating the President and the Trump Organization for criminal charges relating to his tax records.

The Southern District of New York also recently indicted Steve Bannon, a close ally of the President, on various criminal charges, claiming that he defrauded online donors in a private project to help build the southern border wall.