"WAIT, PENCE CAN'T SAVE ME?":

As president of the United States, Trump enjoys certain executive powers--including the power to issue pardons for federal crimes. The people Trump has pardoned so far at the federal level range from Scooter Libby to former Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of criminal contempt for his unconstitutional tactics against undocumented immigrants. But the keyword with the Libby and Arpaio pardons is "federal": Trump had the power to pardon them for federal crimes--and he has the power to grant Paul Manafort (his former campaign manager) a presidential pardon for tax fraud, bank fraud and all the other crimes he has been convicted of. But Trump does not have the power to issue presidential pardons for criminal convictions in individual states, including any that might come about in 2019 in New York State. And James obviously plans to keep her staff very busy next year.

James, in a recent interview with NBC News, was quite specific about the things she plans to investigate--including whether or not Trump's business interests in New York City represent a violation of the U.S. Constitution's emoluments clause, which restricts presidents and other federal politicians from receiving gifts or payments from foreign powers (for example, the Russian government).

James has said that she plans to investigate the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting in New York City that was attended by Manafort, the Trump Organization's Jared Kushner (who is married to the president's daughter, Ivanka Trump) and Donald Trump, Jr. as well as Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya and others. And New York State's incoming attorney general also noted that she will be investigating Trump's real estate holdings in NYC for potential illegalities.

James told NBC News, "We will use every area of the law to investigate President Trump and his business transactions and that of his family as well.... We want to investigate anyone in his orbit who has, in fact, violated the law."

Further, James has asserted that she would like to pursue state charges against any Trump associates who are pardoned for  federal crimes allegedly committed in New York State. Presently, James might have difficulty doing that because of a double jeopardy law in New York State. But in the midterms, she campaigned on modifying that law--and doing so, James told NBC News, "is a priority because I have concerns with respect to the possibility that this administration might pardon some individuals who might face some criminal charges, but I do not want them to be immune from state charges."

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