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Donald Trump has told NBC’s Meet the Press that he is “very unlikely” to pardon himself should he regain the White House next year, saying doing so “would look terrible” and that he had declined the chance to absolve himself at the close of his first term.
Of the prospect taking place in future, he said: “I think it’s very unlikely. What did I do wrong? I didn’t do anything wrong. You mean because I challenge an election, they want to put me in jail?”
That came after a New York appeals court issued a temporary halt to the upcoming 2 October fraud trial in the case filed by state attorney general Letitia James against the former president and his family business.
The stay order was issued in response to Mr Trump’s lawsuit against Justice Arthur Engoron, the trial judge responsible for the case.
Justice David Friedman from the appeals court granted a temporary suspension of the trial and has referred the issue to a five-judge panel – which is expected to rule during the last week of September.
That means that the trial could in theory still go ahead on 2 October, depending on the panel’s ruling.
