Trump Says He Is Allowed to Preemptively Pardon Junior Staff Ahead of Midterm Probes

President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would be allowed to pardon junior members of his administration before any charges exist, after a report that White House lawyers are weighing broad pardons to shield staff from investigations if Democrats gain ground in the midterm elections. Trump spoke with reporters for nearly 20 minutes after voting at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections offices in Florida, alongside First Lady Melania Trump.

Asked about the report, Trump told the Washington Examiner that he had not yet considered the idea but was "allowed to." "I haven't thought of it but I will tell you, it would be very unfair to go through what we went through for four years with the corrupt weaponization that took place," he said. "Biden shielded many people, including the Congress. If you look at what they did with Congress when they set up the special committee, which was a fraud, they all got shielded."

"I haven't thought about it, but certainly I'd be allowed to," Trump said. "The presidential pardons are, they say, the most powerful thing a president has. I certainly don't want to see innocent people go through hell."

A promise made to an aide standing beside him

Trump returned several times to the legal costs that staff could face. He pointed to White House communications adviser Margot Martin, who was standing with the traveling press pool, and said he did not want aides like her to lose all their money if investigators targeted them. "If she becomes a target, you know she's a very honest person, but they're going to drag her into a grand jury," he said. "Margot, you're not going to have to worry about it, okay?"

The New York Post, reporting from the same pool stop, said Trump declined to rule out pardoning lower level White House staffers and reassured Martin after he was asked about the report. The exchange came on a campaign day that took Trump from his Florida vote to a rally in Georgia, with the November 3 midterms nine days away. Democrats would need to win the House or the Senate to run the congressional investigations the president described.

Lawyers weigh how broad a pardon could be

Newsmax reported on Saturday, citing The Washington Sun, that White House attorneys are examining how broadly Trump could extend clemency to personnel who have carried out his agenda. One option would cover employees in particular policy areas, such as deportations, military operations and trade, rather than every junior official. A pardon covering all lower ranking personnel is considered unlikely, one source told the outlet. The Sun reported that the Heritage Foundation and American Moment have encouraged the White House counsel's office to prepare pardons or arrange financial help for junior officials who could face investigations or lawsuits after leaving government.

Trump has raised the same concern before. In an October 15 interview on Newsmax, he said, "I don't want to see people that work for me go through years of nonsense, hire lawyers, and everything else, all for nothing." He has not named any recipients, specified any offenses, or set a timetable. The president and the first lady arrived at the polling office at 3:58 p.m., according to pool reports cited by USA Today, and Trump told reporters he voted "very much so" along party lines.