Newt Gingrich: If Trump is 'dumb enough' to pardon himself, Republicans will 'impeach him in a week'

Former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich said on Tuesday that the Republican-controlled Congress will impeach President Donald Trump "in a week" if he is "dumb enough" to pardon himself.

In a tweet on Monday, Trump asserted that he has the "absolute" power to pardon himself.

Gingrich told CBS News on Tuesday that Congress has the "absolute right to impeach" Trump if he tried to give himself a pardon.

"If a president was dumb enough to pardon himself, that would be such an arrogant statement of power that the House would probably impeach him in a week and the Senate would convict him," the former Speaker predicted.

Later in the interview, host Gayle King wondered if Trump was avoiding an interview with Mueller because he has trouble telling the truth.

"Trump is a storyteller," Gingrich replied. "He's an entertainer, that's who he is as a person."

"But he's president of the United States," King observed. "Shouldn't the president of the United States tell the truth?"

"He should tell the truth, but he also likes to tell stories," Gingrich remarked. "Sometimes those stories stretch things."

Watch the video below from CBS.