President Trump has consulted with advisers about potentially granting pre-emptive pardons to his children and to his son-in-law, the New York Times reported early Wednesday.
The news comes after an earlier report from the Times that Rudy Giuliani has discussed a potential pre-emptive pardon with the President.
According to the Times’ reporting, Trump is wary that the incoming Justice Department could target three of his children — Don Jr., Eric, and Ivanka Trump— as well as Ivanka’s husband Jared Kushner, a White House senior adviser.
Although the cited reasons for the discussions of pardoning were retribution, according to the Times, some of the underlying reasons prompting the desire for the shelter of a potential pardoning are obvious. Don Jr. had been under investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller for contacts with Russians who had damaging information ahead of the 2016 presidential election about then Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Seeking a security clearance, Kushner provided false information to federal authorities about his contacts with foreigners.
Per the Times, an investigation into the Trump Organization by the Manhattan district attorney, however, includes millions of dollars of tax write-offs, some of which appear to have gone to Ivanka Trump, although it’s unclear if this would be the underlying reason for the President to attempt to pardon his daughter.
President Trump’s concerns about Eric Trump are even less clear — although vague and broad pre-emptive pardoning has historical precedent.
The news comes as Fox News host Sean Hannity suggested during his Monday night show that Trump extend pardons to his entire family.
Blaming Democrats for a “witch hunt” he told viewers that the President should immediately “pardon his whole family and himself because they want this witch hunt to go on in perpetuity.”
