Newt Gingrich Believes Donald Trump Should Ignore Nepotism Laws, Use Power Of Pardon Later

Recently, former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich did an interview with NPR, asserting that Donald Trump could and should ignore ethics laws and put his family members in advisory roles. In the past, Gingrich suggested that Trump should seek a waiver to do so, but now, he is suggesting that Trump should seek pardons later if necessary.

But it’s possible that Gingrich has changed his stance on the nepotism laws as Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, have relocated to Washington, D.C., reports the Inquisitr. Ironically, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are moving into the same neighborhood that will be home to the Obama family after they leave the White House. Reportedly, Ivanka and her husband are putting aside their business interests in anticipation of taking part in the new Trump administration.

Newt Gingrich is speaking out on behalf of the president-elect to defend his choices for those he would like to put in senior advisory roles, stated the Huffington Post. Gingrich spoke at length on the topic on NPR’s The Diane Rehm Show about what Donald Trump can do to assemble his cabinet to suit his needs.

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The laws as they are written would bar him from giving such roles to his daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, but Gingrich believes that this isn’t fair.

“In the case of the president, he has a broad ability to organize the White House the way he wants to.”

The nepotism laws were put in place by President Lyndon Johnson in 1967 in response to Bobby Kennedy being appointed to the office of Attorney General by his brother, President John F. Kennedy. The law states that public officials “cannot employ or promote relatives to a civilian position of an office within their jurisdiction.”

Previously, Newt Gingrich thought that a waiver would be necessary, but he is now reporting that the nepotism laws don’t apply to the incoming administration.

“[The law] was a very narrowly focused bill really in reaction to a particular personality thing. You have to look at it in the context of what [its creators] were trying to accomplish.”

But in speaking with Diane Rehm, Gingrich, who is a politician with a more thorough background in U.S. history, suggested that if that became an issue, Trump could protect his family members on the backend.

“He also has, frankly, the power of the pardon. It’s a totally open power. He could simply say, ‘Look, I want them to be my advisers. I pardon them if anyone finds them to have behaved against the rules. Period.’ Technically, under the Constitution, he has that level of authority.”

Newt Gingrich added that there has never been someone in the White House of such wealth, so the laws and rules need to be adjusted for the Trump administration.

Politico states that Donald Trump can’t “run afoul” of the ethics laws if they are changed to suit the situation. Since most modern presidents have been career politicians, the advisors of a business mogul are not addressed in current laws.

“We’re going to have to think up a whole new approach.”

As a result of Gingrich’s recommendations, Donald Trump will be rolling out an all new ethics strategy next month. But Diane Rehm and her other guest were aghast at what Gingrich, himself a career politician, was suggesting, which was, essentially, that if you don’t like the laws, just change them. American University politics professor James Thurber was shocked that Gingrich, a historian who has written one of the go-to books on Gettysburg, would advise that this is the proper path for the president-elect.

“Speaker Gingrich’s statement that wealth trumps the rule of law, basically that’s what he was saying, is jaw-dropping. I can’t believe it. He’s a historian. He should also know that we did not want to have a king. A king in this case is somebody with a lot of money who cannot abide by the rule of law.”

Richard Painter, an ethics lawyer who was part of the George W. Bush administration, also believes that Gingrich is off in his reading of the constitution.

“If the pardon power allows that, the pardon power allows the president to become a dictator, and even Richard Nixon had the decency to wait for his successor to hand out the pardon that he received for his illegal conduct. We’re going down a very, very treacherous path if we go with what Speaker Gingrich is saying, what he is suggesting.”

Quicklink: Newt Gingrich Thinks #notmypresident Nepotism Laws Shouldn't Apply To Trump Administration https://t.co/8iX56Horaj

— OurRevolution (@LeftysUnite) December 22, 2016

Do you believe that Donald Trump will try to change that laws and rules he doesn’t like in order to surround himself with his family members?

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