Kavanaugh starts to give a no comment on the q of whether the president can issue a pardon in exchange for a bribe, thinks better of it, and makes the point that you have to distinguish the effectiveness of the pardon from whether the president/briber incur criminal liability.
I for one appreciate that answer. However, Kavanaugh goes on to say that he can't address the question of whether the president can give himself a pardon, which leaves open the possibility of a two-stage series of pardons that receive the president and the briber of liability.
If you maintain that the president is not above the law, how can you be undecided about whether the president can pardon himself?
