Trump ​will try 'self-pardon' but he can still be held accountable: ex-federal prosecutor

Nick Hilden
6h
U.S. President Donald Trump reacts as he speaks to the media on the day of a NATO leaders' summit in Ankara, Turkey, July 8, 2026. REUTERS Umit Bektas

According to former Federal Prosecutor James D. Zirin, President Donald Trump, along with his family and officials, has been engaged in rampant self-enrichment over the course of his second term to the point where it may be illegal. And while Trump is likely to leverage his pardon power to protect himself and his allies, there is one tool that may hold them at least financially accountable: civil lawsuits.

As Zirin writes in the Hill, “Last year was a financial bonanza for Trump, bringing in more than $2 billion. More than half of that came from crypto, even as his administration was gutting the primary regulator of the industry. The president is exempt from federal conflict of interest laws. But they would prohibit other executive branch officials, and presumably their affiliates, from profiting from their relationship with the government.”

Zirin cites a number of recent grift endeavors by those in Trump’s orbit. His sons, for example, “stand to reap a fortune from a billion-dollar Tungsten mining venture in Kazakhstan. The deal is set to receive up to $1.6 billion in federal financing. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and his sons have also joined the party.” Then there’s the administration’s effort to eliminate restrictions on buying guns by mail, which would enrich Don Jr. to the tune of millions thanks to his involvement with the online gun store GrabAGun.

As all this is going on, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner appears to be preparing an escape plan, buying an island in Albania, “a country refusing extradition for ‘political offenses’ that has granted citizenship to the indicted former New York City Mayor Eric Adams.” But according to Zirin, “Kushner’s presence in Albania is unlikely to shield him from civil suits.”

Civil suits, argues Zirin, may be the only viable way to hold the Trump administration accountable. As he notes, even if the Democrats take the House and Senate in the midterms, impeachment will be out as the party will lack the two-thirds Senate majority necessary for conviction and removal. What’s more, “if the Democrats take the White House in 2028, you can almost rule out criminal prosecutions of Trump and his flock. Trump will certainly pardon friends and family on the way out and may even try to pardon himself. Constitutional experts argue that a self-pardon won’t hold water because of the venerable principle that ‘no man can be the judge of his own cause.’ But I would like to see what our reactionary Supreme Court does with that one. After all, they barely upheld birthright citizenship.”

“Even so, civil remedies are beyond the scope of the pardon power,” writes Zirin. “If we ever have an independent Justice Department again, free of political control, the only road to bringing the wrongdoers to book may lie in civil actions by the U.S. against all those who profited through improper influence or inside information stemming from Trump’s relationship with the government. This could amount to billions in recovered money.” While this may not bring the level of accountability some might hope for, Zirin asserts that a “civil remedy will provide a measure of justice.”

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