President Trump Doubles Down on ‘Preemptive Pardons’ to Protect Staff & Allies | JP
President Trump didn’t hesitate when asked about using ‘preemptive pardons’ to shield administration officials from what could be coming.
The historical record tells a consistent tale of lawfare against President Trump in particular.
But there has been increased chatter from Democrats openly calling for Congressional witch hunts aimed at the administration.
And with the hotly contested midterm elections now upon us, several Democrats have been very clear.
The President — and anyone who would even consider working in his administration — are all on the Democrat lawfare target list.
President Trump was first asked point blank about the possibility that Elon Musk could be arrested along with the plundering of his companies.
He was also asked about those currently working within his administration who might face Dem-led legal battles if things go south for the Republicans during an interview with the New York Post.
And the President was clear: he would take the steps necessary to protect all of the above, if he needs to.
The NYP podcaster that interviewed President Trump specifically asked about Musk to begin with, but the topic quickly shifted to include anyone and everyone associated with President Trump’s administration.
Check out this short clip from the NYP interview shared on X by Benny Johnson:
The precedent set by Biden and the current legal plans articulated by the Democrats to go after the President and his allies in the event Congress flips blue tomorrow have conspired to bring us to this point, just halfway through Trump’s current term.
Beyond the possible wave of pardons, the President also laid out his expectation for such a turn of events, saying it would likely ‘eventually’ end in ‘a deal’:
“I guess I’ll become Mr. Veto.”
President Trump lays out his strategy for dealing with a potential Democratic-controlled Congress in an exclusive interview with Miranda Devine.
Trump says he would veto legislation before eventually negotiating compromises, while expressing hope… pic.twitter.com/n63QdC5MV0
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 1, 2026
But before any deals, a catastrophic showing for Republicans in the House and Senate tomorrow would create the opportunity Democrats have been talking about.
Democrat Sen. Elissa Slotkin, for example, made waves recently with a legal plan ready to be fielded against Trump officials, if Democrats get the chance, according to this from the New York Post:
President Trump revealed he’s willing to issue sweeping preemptive pardons to everyone who worked in his administration if Democrats follow through on threats to prosecute them.
Asked whether that applied to everyone who’d worked for him, the president reaffirmed.
“I’d do it,” he said. “I did it for J6.”
He pointed to former President Joe Biden, who used his final hours in the Oval Office to pardon Dr. Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley, the members and staff on the House Jan. 6 committee and a handful of his own relatives — including his troubled son Hunter.
Last month, Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s (D-Mich.) said at a University of Chicago event that a Democratic majority should prosecute “signature cases” against “the people who enable” Trump.
The goal, she said, is to make young conservatives think twice about taking jobs with the Trump administration.
“I want that deterrence message sent,” Slotkin said.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the likely next Judiciary chairman if Democrats flip the House, promised to ferret out what he calls the administration’s “systemic corruption.”
Some on the left want to go even further.
Robert Reich, the 4-foot-11-inch former labor secretary, urged Democrats to lay the “groundwork” for nationalizing SpaceX. Others have suggested that Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffers — like Edward Coristine, aka “Big Balls” — should be targeted. (Emphasis added.)
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The instances of Democrats plotting a return of lawfare referenced in that article are nothing new, on one hand.
But the specificity and the willingness to talk so openly in advance of the midterms about the plot is what has turned heads.
The most ‘viral’ instance is that of Sen. Slotkin being caught on hidden camera during a Town Hall investigation discussing the legal war planning:
UNDERCOVER: ELISSA SLOTKIN LAYS OUT DEMOCRATS’ LAWFARE PLAN IF THEY WIN THE MAJORITY!
“We have a list of, like, the ‘signature cases.’ So the things where it’s, like, so egregious, such a violation of law, such a corruption case… in every committee, there will be the… pic.twitter.com/C6xLcf78bq
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 30, 2026
If you noted the 2017 date on that clip, be advised that an error caused that date, according to Town Hall’s own report.
Slotkin actually made those comments on hidden camera this last Thursday, Oct. 29th of 2026.
But that WAS NOT the first time she’s been ‘caught’ on camera talking about the Democrats lawfare hopes against President Trump.
Back on the 17th of October, she disclosed the plan using very similar language during a University of Chicago event:
Sen. Elissa Slotkin just said that he wants to prosecute everyone who works for President Trump and that her goal is for young conservatives coming out of school to be afraid of working in a Republican administration pic.twitter.com/2ycIvMclYL
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 17, 2026
Of course, when Slotkin was questioned about the pushback from Republicans after those plans were divulged, she immediately dismissed the criticism against her, because, well…
She’s a woman.
Of course that’s the only reason she’s getting pushback for planning to go after Trump. (Sorry if my sarcasm is too heavy, but I’m so tired of the gaslighting!)
You can hear her response to the pushback during an October 19th appearance on MS Now, here:
Democrat Sen. Elissa Slotkin claims she’s being attacked for threatening lawfare against young conservatives because she’s a woman: “There’s something about being a woman and criticizing them that really gets under their skin.” pic.twitter.com/zJvWr9Y0vZ
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) October 19, 2026
I can only imagine the rage from Congressional Democrats if a Republican or White House official dared float a plan that was intended to dissuade people from taking jobs with a Democrat administration.
Oh — there would probably be cities on fire and buildings looted!
As for President Trump’s response, he’s only doubling down on what he has said previously.
Even with tall the progress in the last 2 years, the possibility for a return of anti-Trump lawfare has never fully gone away.
And though he expects the midterms to swing his way, even a month ago he expressed a willingness to issue pardons preemptively, as reported then by ABC News:
“Yeah, sure, I’d do that,” the president answered when asked by TIME magazine earlier this week if he was “considering pardoning members of your administration prior to the end of your term?”
The president further said that Biden “gave pardons to everyone.”
Trump’s pardon comments mark the first time he has publicly said he would consider pardoning members of his administration.
Last year, he issued pardons to some to his political and financial supporters as well as several high-profile individuals allegedly involved in his attempt to overturn the election. In his first term, he pardoned several advisers, members of his campaign and one former member of his administration, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.
Trump still expressed confidence that Republicans will “do okay” in November, as long as he is on the campaign trail.
“No, I think we’ll do okay if I campaign, and I intend to,” he said, when asked if he believes that Democrats will take control of Congress.
A week ago, President Trump cast his ballot during midterm early voting.
He was questioned specifically about ‘junior administration officials’ and the possibility that even their ranks could be targeted if the Democrats hold sway in tomorrow’s election.
The President didn’t waiver on his commitment to issue pardons — even in the deeper ranks of his administration — if necessary.
You can watch that clip as shared on YouTube by C-SPAN, here:
If you watched that clip, you heard President Trump make a promise and point to a particular someone off camera.
That someone was ‘Margo’ — Margo Martin, White House Communication Adviser — who received an on-camera guarantee from the man himself that she wouldn’t have to worry about Democrats dragging her before a grand jury just for being a member of the Trump White House.
If the polling numbers prove trustworthy, President Trump might end up having to make good on that promise for Margo and hundreds of others within his sphere.
As we’ve seen in the past, and in November of 2024 in particular, President Trump has a way of defying the polls.
At this point, only time will tell.
Polls open bright and early tomorrow, and the waiting game for final vote tallies has already begun in my mind.
I’ll be waiting on the edge of my seat along with the rest of you to see how the election shakes out tomorrow — fingers crossed and prayers going up!