Follow-up: Trump Says He Is 'Allowed' to Preemptively Pardon Junior Staffers as White House Lawyers Weigh Names
Palm Beach County, Florida — After casting his midterm early ballot at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections office on Saturday afternoon, October 24, President Donald Trump fielded questions from reporters for nearly 20 minutes. Asked about reports that the White House is weighing broad pardons, he said he had not thought about it yet but was "certainly allowed to" do it, and he turned to White House communications adviser Margo Martin, who was standing nearby, and told her: "You're not going to have to worry about it, okay?"
Earlier Saturday, The Washington Sun reported that White House attorneys were deliberating on presenting the president with staffers for potential pardons, examining how broadly presidential clemency could be extended to shield lower-ranking officials who carried out his agenda from future federal prosecution and mounting legal costs. According to Newsmax's account of that report, one option would cover employees working in particular policy areas — such as deportations, military operations and trade — while a pardon encompassing every junior official was considered unlikely. The Heritage Foundation and American Moment have encouraged the White House counsel's office to prepare pardons or arrange financial assistance for junior officials who might face criminal investigations, congressional inquiries or civil lawsuits, the report said.
"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," Trump told the Washington Examiner. "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 continued: "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."
Trump repeatedly said he did not want staffers such as Martin 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. Margo, you're not going to have to worry about it, okay?" Democratic lawmakers have signaled for months that, if they take over congressional majorities in November, they plan to launch investigations into administration officials and the business dealings of Trump's family members, the Examiner reported. A presidential pardon applies only to federal criminal offenses; it does not stop congressional oversight investigations.
It was the second time this month that Trump publicly raised using the pardon power to protect people around him: in an October 15 Newsmax interview at the White House, he said he might use pardons to shield staff from what he called politicized investigations. What is new this time is that White House lawyers are now reported to be weighing specific names and scope, and that Trump has responded to that deliberation on the record in front of reporters. As of publication, the White House had announced no new pardons and given no timetable.
Source: GSM News
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：特朗普总统向记者讲话（2026年10月5日，白宫官方照片，资料图）。白宫摄影，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on October 5, 2026 (official White House photo, file photo). Photo by The White House, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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- 2026-10-25Follow-up: Trump Says He Is 'Allowed' to Preemptively Pardon Junior Staffers as White House Lawyers Weigh NamesThis story
