(The Washington Times)
The Supreme Court is set to hear a case Thursday on whether the states and the federal government can separately charge someone with the same crime — but some of President Trump’s opponents fear the justices will end up granting the president a back-door power to shield his allies.
The case involves a two-time felon nabbed on gun charges, and the legal dispute before the court is whether the federal government and the state can bring separate charges for the same offense.
Michael Conway, former counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during its probe into President Richard Nixon, says if the justices rule that only one set of charges can be brought, it would mean Mr. Trump could pardon his allies from federal crimes and shut out the chance that states could bring their own charges.
Other legal analysts dismiss those fears, saying even if the high court were to rule that two sets of charges amount to double jeopardy in violation of the Fifth Amendment, it’s not likely to crimp special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe and would not stop enterprising state prosecutors from figuring ways to bring charges Read more