"Can Trump forgive himself?" Editor Greg Graziosi asked, explaining that there is no legal or historical precedent for a president forgiving himself.

In the Independent, Graziosi said that despite Donald Trump's arguments, his time in the White House was coming to an end.

He added that although his time in office was not traditional, he would almost certainly benefit from a previous presidential tradition of issuing a large number of presidential pardons.

He noted that Trump had already used presidential pardons in 2017 when he pardoned former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arbayo, who was convicted of contempt of court after refusing to cooperate with federal authorities, in an effort to make law enforcement less racist.

He even issued some good pardons when he pardoned legendary black boxer Jack Johnson who was convicted of violating the racist "white and slave passage" law for crossing state borders with a white woman in 1912.

The editor returned to the question: Can Trump pardon himself?

The short and unsatisfactory answer, he said, is "maybe."

Some legal experts argue that the president's self-pardon would be unconstitutional because it violates the notion that no one should act as a judge in his case.

He made it clear that there was no precedent for such a measure, so its legal validity would ultimately be left to court to decide, assuming that Trump's attempt to do so would lead to a lawsuit.

And he hinted that the president's powers to pardon are very broad, so Trump could pardon his friends - as has already happened with Roger Stone, his conservative spiteful character - and his family, without a problem.

Trump will not have to wait until charges are formally brought against him to pardon himself, and the powers of pardon granted to the president extend to include measures that were not disclosed or charged.

The editor went on to say that some legal experts argue that the president's self-pardon would be unconstitutional, as it violates the notion that no one should act as a judge in his case.

There is a huge obstacle for Trump to pardon himself, because pardon orders only apply to federal crimes, and charges brought by lower courts - such as those facing Trump aides from the Manhattan District Attorney - do not qualify for a presidential pardon, and instead of trying to pardon himself he could Trump may also resign at some point before leaving office and pass the power to pardon his deputy, Mike Pence.

The editor pointed out that President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon in this way, which establishes the legal and historical precedent for this measure, and concluded that it is difficult to determine what will happen if Trump tries to pardon himself.