President Trump said in a Time magazine interview, reported by NBC News on Oct. 1, 2026, that he would consider pardoning members of his administration before his term ends, answering, “Yeah, sure I’d do that.” Talk of Trump preemptive pardons has since spread online, including in posts about the Alaska gas venture that the FT and NYT wrote about on Oct. 23 and 24. We checked what Trump has actually said, what he has granted, and how his statements about Joe Biden’s pardons hold up.
Where it stands: No pre-emptive pardon of a Trump administration official had been reported through Oct. 26. The interview remark and an April Wall Street Journal report are, so far, statements of intent.
The pardon chatter tied to Polar LNG has no case behind it. No one has been charged in that matter. In Business Standard’s FT-based account, “No US authority has publicly established that the alleged financing constituted a sanctions violation.” Polar LNG says “Development activities are being pursued in full compliance with applicable US laws.” Novatek and Tech Wave deny the allegations of hidden Russian control.
What Trump told Time
NBC News summarized the exchange this way: “President Donald Trump said in an interview that he’s considering pre-emptively pardoning members of his administration before the end of his second term.” When pressed, Trump pointed to his predecessor: “Sleepy Joe gave pardons to everybody. He gave them to Fauci. He gave them to this. But you mean I’m not allowed to give them, but Sleepy Joe’s allowed to give them?”
In the same interview, asked about Republicans possibly losing the House in November, Trump said, “They’ll probably go after me and I’ll go after them.” He did not name any official he would pardon or any offense a pardon would cover.
The Wall Street Journal report
The stronger claim comes secondhand. NBC wrote that “In April, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had repeatedly promised his top administration officials pardons before he leaves office, citing people who had heard his comments.” The quote attached to it is striking: “I’ll pardon everyone who has come within 200 feet of the Oval,” Trump said in a meeting, according to the WSJ’s sources.
We could not read the WSJ article, which is paywalled, so this rests on NBC’s description of it. The White House response to that report was not included in the NBC account we reviewed. Treat it as reported, not confirmed on the record.
Trump preemptive pardons: claim and verdict table
| Statement or claim | Rating | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Trump said he would consider pardoning his officials early | Accurate | Time interview, per NBC |
| He promised mass pardons in private | Reported, single outlet | WSJ, citing people who heard him |
| “Sleepy Joe gave pardons to everybody” | Exaggerated | Biden’s list was broad but named groups |
| Biden’s autopen pardons are void | No evidence offered | No court ruling reported; pardon need not be written |
| Trump has already pardoned people never charged federally | Accurate | Nov. 2025 election proclamation, 77 people |
| A pre-emptive pardon covers state crimes | False | Federal offenses only |
What Biden actually did in January 2025
Trump’s comparison has a real basis. On his last day in office, NPR reported, “President Biden said he was issuing pardons to retired Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the members of Congress and staff who served on the Jan. 6 committee and the U.S. Capitol and Washington, D.C., police officers who testified before that committee.” Biden cited the risk of “unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions” and added that “The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense.”
The National News Desk added that “In the last hours of his presidency, Biden issued preemptive pardons to his family members” as well. So “everybody” overstates it: Biden’s pre-emptive grants went to defined groups and relatives. NBC noted he acted “to protect people whom Trump had threatened during the 2024 presidential campaign.”
The autopen claim
In March 2025, Trump posted that Biden’s pardons for the House Jan. 6 panel were “VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen.” Bloomberg noted that “Trump in his Truth Social post did not present any evidence.” Trump himself told reporters, “It’s not my decision, that’ll be up to a court.”
Bloomberg also pointed to the legal backdrop: “The pardon power has long been considered one of the most absolute powers a president has — and courts have been reluctant to put any limits on how they’re granted,” and “A 2024 federal appeals court decision said a pardon doesn’t even have to be in writing.” We found no report of a court invalidating any Biden pardon.
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What Trump has already granted
Trump’s clemency record so far is long. NBC reported that on his first day back “Trump issued pardons and commutations to roughly 1,500 defendants” from the Jan. 6 attack, and that he has since issued “about 170 pardons and commutations to other people convicted of crimes,” citing the Justice Department’s list. That list, kept by the Office of the Pardon Attorney, includes a Nov. 7, 2025, entry headed “Granting Pardons for Certain Offenses Related to the 2020 Presidential Election.”
That proclamation is the closest precedent for what Trump now describes. The AP reported it covered 77 people, including Sidney Powell, John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro, and that “None of the Trump allies named were charged in a federal case.” It “explicitly says the pardon does not apply to Trump himself.” Our Trump pardon tracker lists the grants, and the corruption tracker logs the Time remark.
What the law allows
Pre-emptive pardons are lawful for federal crimes. The Justice Department’s pardon office says “The President can pardon individuals who have not yet been convicted, started serving their sentence, or finished their sentence.” Gerald Ford’s 1974 proclamation granted “a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon” before any charge had been filed.
The limit is jurisdiction. A presidential pardon cannot touch state prosecutions. Among those in the 2020 election proclamation were Republicans who, the AP noted, “were charged in state cases” as fake electors, and the federal pardon left those cases outside its reach. That boundary is laid out in our pardon-and-state-charges explainer, along with the untested question of a president pardoning himself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has Trump said he will pardon his own officials?
He told Time in an interview reported Oct. 1 that he would consider pre-emptively pardoning members of his administration, saying yes, he would do that. As of Oct. 26 no such pardon had been reported.
Did Biden issue preemptive pardons?
Yes. On his last day in office in January 2025, Biden pardoned Mark Milley, Anthony Fauci, Jan. 6 committee members and staff, police officers who testified, and members of his family.
Are Biden’s autopen pardons void?
Trump declared them void in March 2025 but offered no evidence and said a court would decide. No report of a court invalidating any of them was found, and a 2024 appeals ruling said a pardon need not be written.
Has Trump pardoned people who were never charged?
Yes. A November 2025 proclamation covered 77 people linked to the push to reverse his 2020 loss, none of whom had been charged in a federal case. It excluded Trump himself.
Can a preemptive pardon cover state crimes?
No. Presidential pardons reach only federal offenses, so state charges are unaffected.
Sources
- Trump says he’d consider pardoning administration officials before he leaves office — NBC News, October 1, 2026
- Biden pardons Fauci, Milley and members of Jan. 6 panel — NPR, January 20, 2025
- Trump claims Biden’s autopen signature voids pardons for Jan. 6 committee — The National News Desk via WJLA, March 17, 2025
- Trump Calls Biden Pardons ‘Void’ Because of Autopen Usage — Bloomberg via Yahoo News, March 17, 2025
- Clemency Grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-Present) — U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney, accessed October 26, 2026
- Trump pardons Giuliani and others involved in efforts to overturn 2020 election — The Associated Press via NBC4 Washington, November 10, 2025
- Frequently Asked Questions — U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney, accessed October 26, 2026
- 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
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.