A widely shared post, written after the FT and NYT published their Polar LNG stories on Oct. 23 and 24, 2026, made a bold legal prediction: Trump’s circle could not count on a federal pardon, because Alaska could still bring state charges and send them to prison. Our fact check pardon Alaska verdict, in short: the legal point about pardons holds, the prison prediction has no basis in any reporting, and the “paper trail” is real but concerns Polar LNG’s financing, not the people the post named.
Where it stands: No one has been charged, and no federal or state investigation of anyone has been reported, as of Oct. 26. Summarizing the FT, Business Standard wrote that “No US authority has publicly established that the alleged financing constituted a sanctions violation.”
Every party has denied wrongdoing. Polar LNG told the FT that “Development activities are being pursued in full compliance with applicable US laws” and called former CEO Joel Riddle a “disgruntled former employee.” Newsmax, relaying the FT, wrote that “Novatek denied that its involvement was conditioned on sanctions being lifted,” and “Tech Wave said Novatek had no ownership interest in the Abu Dhabi company.” In the FT’s telling, an unnamed White House official played it down: the matter had “only been broadly and briefly mentioned” with “no granular discussions.” Trump Jr.’s spokesman told the NYT that Trump Jr. and Gentry Beach have grown apart.
What the post claimed
Paraphrased, the post made three points. First, that the president, Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, the office of special envoy Steve Witkoff and unnamed executives at Thrive Capital were exposed by a large trail of documents. Second, that a presidential pardon would not help them, since they would still face Alaska state charges and could land in an Alaska prison. Third, by implication, that charges were coming. We checked each against the published record. We are not naming the account that posted it.
Fact Check Pardon Alaska Claims: The Verdict Table
| Claim | Verdict | What the record shows |
|---|---|---|
| A federal pardon does not stop state charges | Accurate on the law | Pardons reach only federal crimes |
| The named people face an Alaska prison | No basis | No charge, no reported probe, no state crime identified |
| Witkoff and Kushner were in on it | Not supported | NYT: no indication they knew of Novatek ties |
| Thrive Capital executives are implicated | No reporting found | Firm absent from all coverage reviewed |
| A “tremendous paper trail” exists | Partly accurate | Texts, memos, letters reported; none tied to the named people |
Claim 1: a pardon will not block state charges
This part is correct. A president can forgive federal offenses only, and Trump’s own case shows the boundary: discussing his New York conviction, the AP wrote flatly, “Trump won’t be able to pardon himself.” State convictions go to state officials; the Justice Department’s pardon office says “Such state authorities are typically the governor or a state board of pardons and/or paroles.” Alaska also has no statute stopping it from prosecuting conduct already handled in federal court, having repealed that bar, AS 12.20.010, in 2008. Our explainer on whether a pardon can stop state charges walks through the clause, the self-pardon question and the Alaska statute in full.
The claim skips a step, though. A state prosecution needs a state crime. Every rule raised in the reporting is a federal sanctions rule, and no outlet has pointed to any Alaska offense. The pardon point is a true statement about law attached to a case that does not exist.
Claim 2: the people named are headed to prison
Nothing reported supports this. A prison term requires an investigation, a charge, and a conviction or plea. None has been reported for anyone, and none of the coverage we reviewed accuses the named Americans of wrongdoing.
On Witkoff and Kushner, the NYT said Vladimir Putin raised the Alaska plan with them in September, and Raw Story’s summary carries the paper’s key caveat: “There is no indication Witkoff or Kushner knew about Polar LNG’s ties to Novatek, the Times reported.” On the president, the only on-record White House response describes the idea as barely discussed. None of the sources we reviewed reports a Trump ownership interest of any kind in the venture.
Trump Jr.’s link runs through Gentry Beach, described by Reuters in February as his college friend, who said then that he had a Novatek deal for a separate Alaska plan. His spokesman’s comment to the NYT is noted above, and Novatek told the paper Beach had no role in its Polar LNG stake talks. The envoy meetings themselves are covered in our Witkoff and Kushner piece.
Claim 3: Thrive Capital executives
Thrive Capital is a New York venture firm; TechCrunch has described it as “the venture firm founded in 2009 by a then 25-year-old Joshua Kushner,” and noted that “Kushner’s brother, Jared, is famously the son-in-law” of Trump. No other link between the firm and this story appears in the reporting we reviewed.
We searched the coverage of Polar LNG, Tech Wave and Novatek, including the FT and NYT accounts as relayed by Business Standard, Newsmax and Raw Story, Reuters’ reporting on Beach, and Alaska outlets. None of it mentions Thrive Capital, Joshua Kushner or any Thrive executive. As of Oct. 26, we found no reporting connecting the firm to the venture, its financing or its parent company. We are not naming any Thrive employee, because no source gives a reason to.
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Claim 4: the “tremendous paper trail”
There is a document trail, and it is the strongest part of the reporting. What it covers is narrower than the post implied:
- Text messages. The NYT reviewed messages between top Novatek executives, its deputy chairman and its CEO, about wiring Tech Wave up to $15 million, according to Raw Story’s account of the paper’s findings. One message to Riddle read, “The first 5 million were supposed to arrive by today.”
- Law firm memos. Riddle attached Baker Botts memos to the letter announcing his exit; per the NYT, they reported that Treasury’s enforcement staff had raised “potential Russia-related sanctions concerns.” The Daily Beast adds that a Baker Botts memo warned perceived Novatek ties could put licenses and approvals at risk.
- Employment papers. Records the NYT obtained date his resignation to six days ahead of the company’s letter firing him.
- A signed agreement. Novatek acknowledged to the FT that it and Polar Train LNG put an April MOU in writing, Business Standard reported.
As described by the outlets, these papers concern Polar LNG’s money, its lawyers’ advice and its executives. None is reported to involve a payment to, or agreement with, Trump, his son, Kushner, Witkoff’s office or Thrive Capital. The company disputes Riddle’s reading of the financing.
What would have to happen first
For any of this to reach a courtroom, federal or state investigators would need to open a case, and prosecutors would need to bring charges against specific people. Neither step has been reported. Riddle says he and a pair of colleagues who also quit flagged the financing to federal officials. He told the NYT, “I felt like I did the right thing to notify authorities at the appropriate time.” The Energy Department did not respond to the paper. Our tracker of calls for an investigation follows what officials do next.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a federal pardon stop Alaska state charges?
No. A presidential pardon covers only federal offenses. Alaska could in principle prosecute a state crime even after a federal case, since it repealed its statutory bar in 2008. But no state crime has been identified in the Polar LNG matter.
Has anyone been charged over the Polar LNG reports?
No. Through Oct. 26, reporting showed no charges and no inquiry into any person, and no finding by any U.S. agency. Polar LNG, Novatek and Tech Wave deny wrongdoing.
Is Thrive Capital involved in Polar LNG?
We found no reporting that connects Thrive Capital, the venture firm founded by Joshua Kushner, to Polar LNG, Tech Wave or Novatek. The firm does not appear in the coverage we reviewed.
What documents has the New York Times reported?
Texts in which two senior Novatek figures discussed a transfer of as much as $15 million, Baker Botts memos on sanctions risk attached to Riddle resignation letter, and papers showing he resigned six days before a termination letter.
Did Witkoff and Kushner know about Novatek funding?
Not on the record so far. The New York Times found no sign that the two envoys were told about Polar LNG and its Russian backer, even though Putin brought up the Alaska gas idea with them in September.
Sources
- 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
- Secret Russian Funding Revealed in Trump-Putin Energy Scheme — The Daily Beast via Yahoo News (citing The New York Times), October 24, 2026
- Trump ally ties up with Russia’s Novatek on natural gas in Alaska, NYT reports — Reuters via Internazionale, February 20, 2026
- New York’s Thrive Capital closes its eighth fund with a whopping $3 billion — TechCrunch, February 17, 2022
- President Donald Trump appeals his New York hush money conviction — Associated Press via Yahoo News, January 2025
- Alaska Statutes, AS 12.20.010-12.20.060 — Alaska State Legislature, accessed October 26, 2026
- Frequently Asked Questions — U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney, accessed October 26, 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.