pardon
President promising to pardon people who will commit crimes in the future, at his incitement
<p>It has been reported that "<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/trump-pardons-border-wall/596962/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">trump has promised to pardon people who commit crimes</a>".</p>

<p><em>If</em> this were true, would it be illegal? For instance, is it incitement to commit crime? </p>

<p>If a sitting president could not be prosecute for it, is there any crime which which could be prosecuted after leaving office? Any non-federal crime?</p>

<p>The article references one purported offer of a pardon, where <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/12/politics/trump-cbp-commissioner-pardon/index.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">CNN claims</a> that </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>President Donald Trump told Customs and Border Protection Commissioner
  Kevin McAleenan he would grant McAleenan a pardon if he were sent to
  jail for having border agents block asylum seekers from entering the
  US in defiance of US law</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The allegation has yet to be substantiated, in particular no potential crime has been identified. Since we're dealing with imaginary scenarios, let us suppose that the CBP Commissioner was offered immunity for ordering agents to shoot asylum seekers on sight (in violation of <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/113" rel="nofollow noreferrer">18 USC 113</a>, also <a href="https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.22.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Texas penal code 22.01</a>). Then the question would be whether this violates <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/373" rel="nofollow noreferrer">18 USC 373</a>, solicitation to commit a crime of violence. The first part seems clearly applicable:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>another person engage in conduct constituting a felony that has as an
  element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force
  against property or against the person of another in violation of the
  laws of the United States</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The question turns on whether such an offer constitutes</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>circumstances strongly corroborative of that intent, (to) solicits,
  commands, induces, or otherwise endeavors to persuade such other
  person to engage in such conduct</p>
</blockquote>

<p>With some creativity, a president could be prosecuted for such an offer, interpreted as an "endeavor to persuade". This assumes that the president forgot to self-pardon before leaving office.</p>

<p>If POTUS were to urge the CBP Commissioner to violate some state law, for example in <a href="https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.7.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Texas</a> where (Sec. 7.02)</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>(a)  A person is criminally responsible for an offense committed by
  the conduct of another if... (2)  acting with intent to promote or
  assist the commission of the offense, he solicits, encourages,
  directs, aids, or attempts to aid the other person to commit the
  offense</p>
</blockquote>

<p>then he might have violated Texas law (if an invalid pardon offer constitutes encouragement or an attempt to aid), and in that case he could not self-pardon. </p>
