Trump is now saying out loud what he’s reportedly been promising behind closed doors for months: blanket pardons for the people who’ve worked for him, handed out before anyone can investigate what they did. Asked if he’d do it, his answer was simple. “Yeah, sure I’d do that.”
President Trump said in an interview this week that he’s considering pre-emptively pardoning members of his administration before the end of his second term, confirming publicly a promise he has reportedly made privately to his top officials.
“Yeah, Sure I’d Do That”
In an interview with Time magazine, published Thursday, Trump was asked whether he’d grant clemency to administration staff if Democrats retake power and try to investigate them. “Yeah, sure I’d do that,” he said.
Asked how he’s preparing for Republicans possibly losing the House in November, Trump said: “They’ll probably go after me and I’ll go after them.” That’s the context for these pardons. They aren’t about righting injustice. They’re about making sure nobody in his orbit can be held accountable once a Democratic Congress starts asking questions.
His Pardon Plan
This isn’t a new idea for Trump. In April, the Wall Street Journal reported that he had repeatedly promised his top officials pardons before he leaves office, citing people who heard him say it.
“I’ll pardon everyone who has come within 200 feet of the Oval,” Trump said in one meeting, according to the report. He also reportedly told advisers he’d hold a news conference to announce mass pardons on his way out. Think about what that promise means for the people hearing it: whatever you do for me, you won’t pay for it.
His Excuse: Biden Did It
Trump’s justification is Joe Biden. “Sleepy Joe gave pardons to everybody,” he told Time. “He gave them to Fauci. He gave them to this. But you mean I’m not allowed to give them, but Sleepy Joe’s allowed to give them?”
There’s a key difference he leaves out. Biden pre-emptively pardoned people Trump had openly threatened to prosecute during the 2024 campaign: Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and members of the January 6 committee. Biden was shielding people from a president who promised retribution. Trump is talking about shielding his own officials from investigations into their own conduct in office.
A President Who Has Already Pardoned Thousands
Trump has used the pardon power more aggressively than any modern president. On his first day back in office, he pardoned or commuted the sentences of roughly 1,500 January 6 defendants, including people convicted of assaulting police officers. He’s issued about 170 more pardons and commutations since.
At the end of his first term, he granted clemency to 143 people, including his former chief strategist Steve Bannon, who had been charged with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy and hadn’t yet gone to trial.
The Bottom Line
Trump has spent months reportedly promising blanket pardons to anyone who gets close to the Oval Office, and now he’s confirmed he’d do it. He’s not hiding the reason either: if Democrats win and start investigating, he wants everyone who worked for him already off the hook. When the people running the government are told in advance they’ll never face consequences, there’s nothing left to stop them.
Does anyone doubt that the Crime Family will do anything possible to shield their members? I hope everyone who wondered what it would be like to have Real Mafia running the United Snakes has now had their questions answered.