Final Act Of Trump Era Could Be As Tumultuous As The Preceding Years

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President Trump returns to the White House from playing golf on Nov. 7 after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election.





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Trump supporters demonstrate at the Michigan state capitol on November 8, 2020 in Lansing, Mich. Militia members had pledged to attend the «Stop the Steal demonstration, claiming the presidential election had been stolen.





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Trump supporters demonstrate at the Michigan state capitol on November 8, 2020 in Lansing, Mich. Militia members had pledged to attend the «Stop the Steal demonstration, claiming the presidential election had been stolen.


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Citizen Trump

One final big question about the Trump transition concerns the outgoing chief executive himself. In addition to the White House, Air Force One, the hulking limousine known as «The Beast and other trappings of power, Citizen Trump will lose the de facto immunity he has enjoyed from prosecution.

Some opponents allege that Trump may have broken one or more federal laws while in office connected with the Russia investigation; he may have obstructed justice in attempting to fire then-special counsel Robert Mueller and he may have lied to Mueller’s investigators, these critics argue.

Trump, then and today, denies any wrongdoing.

But Trump’s business and financial practices also have come under scrutiny from local authorities in New York City and possibly elsewhere.

His former lawyer, Michael Cohen — who went to prison in connection with helping to arrange a scheme in which two women were paid to keep quiet about their affairs with Trump — has alleged practices by Trump’s businesses that could leave him open to prosecution.

So Trump’s conduct in the remaining weeks of his presidency may not only be important in terms of Washington governance, but how he casts himself in the eyes of Americans. If he convinces enough people he’s a victim of politically-motivated hounding, he helps his prospects with the members of any potential future jury.

The president’s legal problems also have prompted questions about whether Trump might issue a pardon for himself — something no president has ever attempted.

Trump has asserted that he has the power to pardon himself but didn’t feel the need to use it because he hadn’t done anything wrong.

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett was asked about a self-pardon at her confirmation hearings last month and she declined to opine about it — because she said it might be an issue that could come before her on the high court.

Whatever the results of an extraordinary attempt at a self-pardon, it wouldn’t necessarily solve all of former President Trump’s problems. He would still be subject to prosecution by state or other authorities, and at least one criminal case already is underway, launched by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.

The issues involving Trump’s actions and prospective criminal consequences, as NPR’s Carrie Johnson has reported, could be some of the toughest early decisions to confront the Justice Department under the new administration.