GOP, Trump at odds on pardon power

Republican lawmakers on Monday pushed back at President Trump’s claim that he has the power to pardon himself.

Trump’s assertion sparked a new round of Republican angst with the White House.

“It doesn’t make sense to me,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) when asked about Trump’s statements. “I certainly don’t think it would be a welcome strategy.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told CNN, “If I were president of the United States and I had a lawyer that told me I could pardon myself, I think I would hire a new lawyer.”A GOP senator who requested anonymity to comment candidly expressed frustration with the president stirring the controversy.“I don’t know why he’d want to talk about it. It doesn’t make any sense,” the lawmaker stated.