According to a White House insider speaking to The Wall Street Journal, President Donald Trump reportedly promised his top advisors he will pardon everyone who has come within 200 feet of the Oval Office before leaving office. Sources indicate Trump told aides gathered in his private dining room that he would announce the pardons during a news conference near the conclusion of his term. The exact timing of this announcement and the specific individuals who would benefit from this reported sweeping promise remain unclear.
In his second term, which began in 2025, Trump has already taken significant pardon actions. On the first day of his second term, he gave nearly 1,600 people blanket pardons to those involved in the January 6 riot. The White House described the January 6 defendants as unfairly targeted, overcharged, and used as political examples.
The Wall Street Journal should learn to take a joke. However, the president's pardon power is absolute.
Overall, Trump has granted clemency to roughly 1,800 people since the beginning of his second term, a dramatic increase from his first-term record where he signed fewer than 250 pardons and commutations. Former President Joe Biden pardoned many in his final moments in office in January 2025. Biden issued preemptive pardons for Dr.
Anthony Fauci and all nine members of the January 6 Committee, including Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, giving them immunity from any future actions by Trump's Department of Justice.
Many are guilty of MAJOR CRIMES!
Biden also used his final moments in the Oval Office to give blanket protection to former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley. The full list of people pardoned by Biden in his final moments, beyond these named individuals, has not been disclosed. Trump reacted strongly to Biden's pardons, telling NBC's Kristen Welker that the pardons were disgraceful.
He has also expressed hostility toward Milley, with Trump saying Mark Milley deserves to be executed. According to Daily Mail - News, Donald Trump described many as guilty of major crimes, though it is not specified if this comment relates directly to the pardons. Among Biden's final actions was the pardon of his son, Hunter Biden.
Joe Biden announced in December 2024 that he would issue a presidential pardon for his son, calling his prosecution selective and unfair. Hunter Biden was pardoned for any crimes he may have committed from January 1, 2014, through December 1, 2024. The specific crimes Hunter Biden was pardoned for, beyond this general timeframe, have not been detailed publicly.
In response to the report about Trump's pardon promise, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt brushed it off. She stated that The Wall Street Journal should learn to take a joke, but noted the president's pardon power is absolute. It remains uncertain whether Trump's reported pardon promise includes specific individuals or is a general statement, adding to the ambiguity surrounding his plans.