Trump Says He Is 'Allowed' to Preemptively Pardon Junior Staffers Ahead of Midterm Probes
President Donald Trump, speaking with reporters Saturday after casting his early ballot in Palm Beach County, said he had not considered preemptive pardons for junior administration staffers but was 'allowed to' issue them — and told a communications adviser standing beside him that she would not have to worry about Democratic-led investigations.
President Donald Trump voiced openness on Saturday toward preemptively pardoning junior officials in his administration to shield them from potential Democratic-led congressional probes after the Nov. 3 midterm elections, the Washington Examiner reported. Trump fielded questions from reporters for nearly 20 minutes after casting his own 2026 votes at the offices of the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections on Saturday afternoon.
Trump told the Examiner 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.' He added: 'I haven't thought about it, but certainly I'd be allowed to. 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.'
The president repeatedly said he did not want staffers such as White House communications adviser Margot Martin, who was standing alongside the traveling press pool, to 'lose all their money.' '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. 'She's standing right there. Margot, you're not going to have to worry about it, okay?'
Earlier in the day, the Washington Sun reported that White House attorneys were deliberating on presenting staffers to the president for potential pardons, the Examiner noted. Democratic lawmakers have signaled for months that if they win congressional majorities in November they plan to launch investigations into administration officials and the business dealings of Trump's family members — one reason control of Congress matters in Texas, where the Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico is among the contests that will help decide the Senate majority.
