Can a president pardon state charges? No. That answer, settled in the Constitution’s text and repeated by the Justice Department’s own pardon office, became a talking point after FT and New York Times stories published Oct. 23 and 24, 2026, laid out allegations of hidden Russian money behind a planned Alaska gas export venture. Posts reacting to those reports argued that federal clemency would not shield anyone from Alaska prosecutors. The legal premise is right. The suggestion that anyone faces charges is not supported by anything reported.
Where it stands: No one had been charged with any crime in the Polar LNG matter as of Oct. 26, and no federal or state investigation had been publicly reported. Business Standard, summarizing the FT, wrote that “No US authority has publicly established that the alleged financing constituted a sanctions violation.”
Polar LNG’s ex-CEO, Joel Riddle, who quit in September, is the one alleging hidden Russian control. Polar LNG rejects that account and told the FT that “Development activities are being pursued in full compliance with applicable US laws.” Novatek, the Russian gas producer, denies secretly controlling the venture. And on the two envoys who heard Vladimir Putin raise the project, Raw Story’s summary of the NYT is explicit: “There is no indication Witkoff or Kushner knew about Polar LNG’s ties to Novatek, the Times reported.” This explainer is about the law, not about any person’s conduct.
What the pardon clause actually says
Article II, Section 2 gives the president a single sentence of clemency power: “he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” Two limits sit inside those words. The offense must be against the United States, meaning a federal crime. And impeachment is off the table entirely.
The Office of the Pardon Attorney, which processes clemency petitions at the Justice Department, spells out the first limit in plain terms: “An offense that violates a state law is not an offense against the United States.” Its guidance tells people convicted under state law to go elsewhere: “A person who wishes to seek a pardon or a commutation of sentence for a state offense should contact the authorities of the state in which the conviction occurred.” In most states that means the governor or a parole and pardon board.
| Type of case | Can a presidential pardon reach it? | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Federal crime after conviction | Yes | Art. II, Sec. 2 |
| Federal crime never charged | Yes | Pardon Attorney; Ford-Nixon 1974 |
| Federal sanctions crime (IEEPA) | Yes, it is federal | 50 U.S.C. 1705 |
| State crime | No | Pardon Attorney guidance |
| Impeachment | No | Art. II, Sec. 2 |
| The president’s own offenses | Untested; OLC said no in 1974 | OLC opinion |
Why a president cannot pardon state charges
The reason is structural. States and the federal government are separate sovereigns, each with its own criminal code. In Gamble v. United States in 2019, the Supreme Court refused to abandon that “dual-sovereignty” rule, reasoning that “where there are two sovereigns, there are two laws.” The same rule cuts both ways: it lets a state and Washington each prosecute one act, and it keeps the president’s pen confined to the federal half.
Trump’s own record is the clearest example. A Manhattan jury found him guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records, with the Washington Examiner dating the verdict: “When the verdict came down on May 30, 2024.” The AP reported he was sentenced in January 2025 to an unconditional discharge and noted the limit directly: “Trump’s case was tried in state court, but presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes.” Trump denies wrongdoing and calls the case political. In May 2026 the Examiner wrote that his effort to erase the conviction “remains alive across multiple courts.” We track that fight in our report on the hush-money appeals.
A second example came in November 2025, when Trump pardoned 77 people tied to efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The AP pointed out that “None of the Trump allies named were charged in a federal case and presidents have no power to pardon state crimes.” State cases against some of them were pending at the time.
Pre-emptive pardons are allowed, for federal crimes only
A president does not have to wait for an indictment. The pardon office says so: “The President can pardon individuals who have not yet been convicted, started serving their sentence, or finished their sentence.” Gerald Ford’s Proclamation 4311 in September 1974 covered Richard Nixon “for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in” during his presidency, before any charge was filed.
Joe Biden used the same power in January 2025; NPR reported his grants covered “retired Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the members of Congress and staff who served on the Jan. 6 committee” and police officers who testified to it. Those grants, too, cover only federal exposure. Our fact check of Trump’s pre-emptive pardon statements covers that history and what Trump has said about doing the same.
The self-pardon question has never been tested
Whether a president can pardon himself has no court answer. The closest official word is a Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel opinion issued days before Nixon resigned, dated Aug. 5, 1974. Its headnote concludes: “Under the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case, the President cannot pardon himself.” The memo floated a workaround: under the 25th Amendment, “the Vice President would become Acting President and as such could pardon the President.”
OLC opinions bind the executive branch, not judges. No president has tried a self-pardon, and the AP reported that Trump’s November 2025 election proclamation “explicitly says the pardon does not apply to Trump himself.” Even a valid self-pardon would leave state law untouched.
📨 Get Free Accountability Coverage Alerts
Free · No spam · Unsubscribe anytime
Alaska law: no statutory bar after a federal case
Some states have laws that stop local prosecutors from retrying conduct already judged in federal court. Alaska used to. Its statute book still lists the old section by title: “Sec. 12.20.010. Conviction or acquittal elsewhere as bar. [Repealed, § 40 ch 75 SLA 2008.]” A companion bar in the controlled-substances chapter, AS 11.71.310, carries the identical 2008 repeal note.
Lawmakers had tried once before. In 2000, at the governor’s request, House Bill 350, short-titled “CRIMES PROSECUTED IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS,” described its purpose this way: “An Act repealing the statutory bars to the State of Alaska’s prosecution of a criminal act that resulted in a conviction or acquittal by the United States, another state, or territory.” The legislature’s records show it stalled in the House Finance Committee that year. The 2008 session law finished the job.
What remains in that chapter deals with Alaska’s own earlier cases, such as AS 12.20.040, which applies “When the defendant is convicted or acquitted of a crime consisting of different degrees” in a prior state prosecution. We did not review how Alaska courts apply the state constitution’s double-jeopardy clause to a second prosecution, so this is a statutory reading only.
Sanctions crimes are federal, and that matters
The laws discussed in the Polar LNG coverage are federal. Russia sanctions are enforced through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, whose criminal section says a person who willfully violates it “may be imprisoned for not more than 20 years.” That is a federal offense, prosecuted by the Justice Department and squarely within the pardon power.
A state case would need something different: a violation of Alaska’s own criminal code, investigated and charged by state authorities. No outlet has reported any state inquiry, and no source has identified any Alaska crime connected to the venture. Treasury, asked by the FT, declined to discuss specific allegations but said it takes potential violations “extremely seriously.” Our companion piece on who could investigate Polar LNG tracks whether that changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a president pardon state charges?
No. The Constitution limits the pardon power to offenses against the United States. The Justice Department says a state-law offense is not one, so state convictions must go to a governor or state pardon board.
Could Trump pardon himself for his New York conviction?
No. The New York case was a state prosecution, and presidential pardons apply only to federal crimes. Trump is instead challenging the conviction in the courts.
Can a president pardon someone who has not been charged?
Yes, for federal crimes. The Justice Department pardon office says a president can pardon people not yet convicted. Ford pardoned Nixon in 1974 and Biden issued pre-emptive pardons in January 2025.
Does Alaska bar a state prosecution after a federal one?
Not by statute. Alaska repealed AS 12.20.010, its bar on prosecuting conduct already tried in another jurisdiction, in 2008. This article did not review Alaska court rulings on the state constitution.
Has anyone been charged in the Polar LNG case?
No. As of Oct. 26, no charge or investigation had been reported, and no U.S. authority had found a sanctions violation. The company maintains it has followed U.S. law.
Sources
- The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription — National Archives, accessed October 26, 2026
- Frequently Asked Questions — U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney, accessed October 26, 2026
- Presidential or Legislative Pardon of the President — U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel, August 5, 1974
- Gamble v. United States, No. 17-646 — Supreme Court of the United States, June 17, 2019
- Alaska Statutes, AS 12.20.010-12.20.060 — Alaska State Legislature, accessed October 26, 2026
- Alaska Statutes, AS 11.71.300-11.71.900 — Alaska State Legislature, accessed October 26, 2026
- HB 350: Crimes Prosecuted in Other Jurisdictions (21st Legislature) — Alaska State Legislature, introduced February 7, 2000
- 50 U.S. Code § 1705 – Penalties — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed October 26, 2026
- President Donald Trump appeals his New York hush money conviction — Associated Press via Yahoo News, January 2025
- Where Trump’s hush money appeal stands two years since conviction — Washington Examiner, May 2026
- Trump pardons Giuliani and others involved in efforts to overturn 2020 election — The Associated Press via NBC4 Washington, November 10, 2025
- Biden pardons Fauci, Milley and members of Jan. 6 panel — NPR, January 20, 2025
- Proclamation 4311, Granting Pardon to Richard Nixon — Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, September 8, 1974
- Top executives quit $25 bn US gas project over alleged Russian control — Business Standard (citing the Financial Times), October 25, 2026
- Former CEO: Russian Firm Backed Alaska Gas Venture — Newsmax via Yahoo News, October 24, 2026
- Whistleblower CEO quits over hidden Russian cash behind gas deal in Trump peace talks: NYT — Raw Story (summarizing The New York Times), October 24, 2026
This article is news reporting and analysis based on the public sources listed above, as they stood on the dates shown. Where officials, lawmakers or analysts disagree, including on whether an action is lawful, their positions are attributed to them; Donald Trump Class Action is not a court and nothing here is legal advice. Facts in a developing story can change.