The President and the Law
Pardons, impeachment, obstruction, emoluments, and the limits of presidential power.
2:27Brief
Who can the President PARDON and how does it work?
How far the presidential pardon reaches, from uncharged crimes to self-pardons, and what it erases.
1:57Brief
What crimes can trigger impeachment of the president?
Treason, bribery, and high crimes and misdemeanors: the standard for impeaching presidents and judges.
2:22Brief
Can a President "Obstruct Justice?"
What counts as obstruction, why a sitting president is not indicted, and how presidential immunity applies.
1:38Brief
Can President Trump continue to run his businesses?
Why conflict-of-interest laws skip the president, and where the Emoluments Clauses fit in.
2:42Brief
What if a nominee withdraws pre-election?
Party rules, state ballot deadlines, and the Electoral College: how a presidential nominee gets replaced.
3:46Brief
Can the President Overturn States' Quarantine Orders?
Harvard's Glenn Cohen on federal versus state power over shutdowns, quarantines, and public health orders.
6:14Brief
Due Process – Can a Litigant Appoint His Judge?
Must a judge step aside when a litigant appointed her? Caperton's "serious risk of actual bias" test.
Go deeper: the full interviews
The full-length conversations behind this series.
- Governmental Power and Constitutional LibertyProf. Jeffrey Rosen
- Trump Trials – A Survey in Legal EthicsProfs Bruce Green & Rebecca Roiphe
- Police Technology - From Body Cameras to Facial RecognitionProf. I. Bennett Capers
- From Super PACs to Dark MoneyProf. Richard Briffault
- Selling Human Organs Prof. Glenn Cohen
- Recusal & the Bounds of Judicial BiasAlicia Bannon