Subject: Re: Bret Baier Laughs at Trump
Wasn't there some legal question around whether he could actually pardon himself, or is that "settled" now?

Whether the President can pardon himself is still an open legal question, at least academically. But while legal scholars might vigorously debate over it, it's pretty unlikely that the courts will.

The only scenario where this arises is if Trump has been elected. If he was previously convicted, then the question will get presented to a court (probably the 11th Circuit) during his appeal of that conviction. Trump's lawyers will argue that the appeal is moot and the matter should be discharged because a pardon has been granted. On the other side is the DOJ - which Trump is now the head of.

I think it's kind of unlikely that DOJ will vigorously fight the Trump team's request. In fact, I think they'll probably agree with it. Certainly in no small part because Trump (and his appointed AG) will be leading the DOJ - but also because I think that's where DOJ's institutional leanings would be anyway. If the parties agree on an issue of law, no matter how much the academic legal community (and others) might disagree, the court is almost certainly going to just accept that and decide the case on that basis.

(If the trial hasn't happened yet, we probably never get to this point - DOJ just drops the charges.)