Trump had a strident start to his week, claiming on Monday that he has the "absolute" right to pardon himself, but that he would not exercise this power, as he has "done nothing wrong."
As no president has ever pardoned himself, this is legally murky territory. Trump also continued his criticism of Mueller's investigation, calling it "unconstitutional" and a "never ending Witch Hunt." Meanwhile, Trump's lawyers are trying to prevent Mueller from questioning the president, or pressuring Mueller to end his investigation early.
Trump also hasn't eliminated the possibility that he will pardon his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who has been indicted as part of Mueller's dragnet for witness tampering, or personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who is under criminal investigation in the state of New York.
Trump seems ready and willing to wield his power to pardon and grant clemency. Trump has previously pardoned former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza, and former advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney, Scooter Libby. Trump also commuted the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson after Kim Kardashian interceded on her behalf.
Trump also said that he wants NFL players and other athletes who protest racial injustice in America by kneeling during the national anthem to recommend people they think should be pardoned. "You have a lot of people in the NFL in particular, but in sports leagues, they're not proud enough to stand for our National Anthem. I don't like that," Trump said on Friday. Indeed, on Monday, in his cancellation of a scheduled visit from Super Bowl champions the Philadelphia Eagles, Trump rebuked players on the team for not standing during the National Anthem. Trump is the first president to cancel such a visit. Trump did so after many members of the team indicated that they would not attend the White House visit to protest his administration's policies.
Meanwhile, Trump is standing behind EPA Chief Scott Pruitt, who is currently under investigation for multiple ethics violations. Trump said that while he did not feel Pruitt was "blameless," he was doing a "great job within the walls of the EPA," and had been "attacked viciously by the press."
As for international news, on Friday, ahead of G7, the summit of leading industrialized nations, Trump broke with other members and said that Russia should be allowed to rejoin the group. Russia has been suspended since 2014 following the annexation of Crimea. Trump also clashed with President Macron of France and Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada over Twitter over climate change, and will now skip the portion of the G7 summit meant to address the topic. Tensions remain high with ally nations over Trump's implementation of tariffs.
Today, Trump landed in Singapore for his June 12 summit with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un. Expect more news on that front later this week.