Trump already weighing preemptive pardons for underlings amid probe threats: report

President Donald Trump has already discussed the idea of preemptively pardoning key aides and officials who could face criminal investigations under a future Democratic administration, according to a new report in Zeteo.

Sources with knowledge of the discussions say the conversations have been sporadic and preliminary, and have included Trump, his senior aides, federal appointees, and Republicans close to the White House. Any sweeping preemptive pardon, the sources told Zeteo, would likely occur shortly before the inauguration of a Democratic president-elect, though it is unclear how long the potential presidential list might run.

Among the names reportedly under consideration is Stephen Miller, Trump’s policy architect widely associated with the administration’s most controversial and, critics argue, “openly, gratuitously lawless” initiatives. Another MAGA administration figure discussed in the reporting is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, currently under scrutiny for a possible war crime related to a series of U.S. military boat strikes in Venezuela and facing judicial contempt inquiries.

“Some of these intra-administration discussions were sparked, sources say, after certain Democrats publicly suggested that the Supreme Court gifted Trump with broad presidential immunity – but that his underlings were not shielded from accountability,” according to Zeteo’s Friday report.

“They’re not always going to be in office,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in October, referring to the potential for legal consequences for administration officials.

He added: “The people who serve for the president, including all the way down to ICE agents, can be held accountable when there’s a change of administration.”