President Donald Trump isn't willing to concede or even accept the loss in the recently concluded presidential election. The president and his allies have left no stone unturned in a bid to reverse the election results.
They did everything from adopting conspiracy theories about widespread voter fraud but failing to offer any evidence in courts to back the lawsuits they filed against several key states. Despite pushing his legal drive, Trump indirectly admitted that President-elect Joe Biden won in a tweet, but attributed his victory to a rigged election.
Regardless of what Trump and his supporters in the White House claim, it is no secret that the president will have to leave the White House once Biden's transition is completed in Jan. next year. Realizing this, Trump might be taking advantage of his position to pardon his loyal supporters before he leaves office, according to a source.
Following its predecessor's footsteps, the insider claims the outgoing administration will provide a myriad of pardons before Trump steps down as the president. The source, familiar with the matter, told CNN that some of Trump's advisers think it is absolutely fine for Trump to preemptively pardon his associates and family members, despite not been charged with any crimes.
The conservative media and Trump's allies in Congress have suggested that the president should pardon himself. Trump retweeted a similar opinion of self-preservation. Some of Trump's advisers suggest that the president could legally pardon himself, according to the insider.
The source gave the example of President Gerald Ford's pardon of President Richard Nixon, who left the office amid the Watergate scandal. It is worth mentioning here that Nixon had not been charged with a crime when he was pardoned.
Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and some of his other associates have approached the president seeking preemptive pardons, CNN reported. Moreover, the president has been discussing preemptively pardoning several people, including his son-in-law and children, along with the White House adviser Jared Kushner.
Aside from that, the pardon list is expected to include people close to Trump and are legally vulnerable even if they have not been charged. The president's son, Donald Trump Jr., was investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller for his Russian connection, but he was never charged.
Kushner is accused of providing incorrect information about his foreign contacts when he applied for his security clearance, but Trump still gave him one. Details about the potential criminal exposure other associates, including Giuliani, are trying to preempt is still scarce.