President Trump said he is allowed to issue preemptive pardons for junior White House staffers, warning Democratic probes after the 2026 midterms would drag innocent aides through costly grand jury fights.
President Donald Trump cast his 2026 votes Saturday afternoon at the offices of the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections, then spent nearly 20 minutes taking questions from reporters. He voiced openness to shielding junior administration officials with preemptive pardons if Democrats win congressional majorities and launch investigations.
White House communications advisor Margot Martin stood with the traveling press pool as Trump made the case. He said he did not want staffers like her to lose their money or get hauled before a grand jury for doing their jobs.
Democratic lawmakers have signaled for months that a November takeover of Congress would bring probes of administration officials and Trump family business dealings. Trump framed preemptive pardons as a lawful answer to that threat, not a free pass for wrongdoing.
Trump told the Washington Examiner he had not yet settled on the idea but insisted he holds the power.
"I haven't thought of it but I will tell you, it would be very unfair to go through what we went through for four years with the corrupt weaponization that took place,"
He pointed to Biden-era shielding of allies and members of Congress tied to what he called a fraudulent special committee.
"Biden shielded many people, including the Congress. If you look at what they did with Congress when they set up the special committee, which was a fraud, they all got shielded."
Earlier the same day, the Washington Sun reported that White House attorneys were already deliberating whether to present staffers to the president for possible pardons. Trump’s remarks put that internal discussion into public view.
Trump stressed the breadth of the pardon power and his refusal to watch lower-level staff get ground down.
"I haven't thought about it, but certainly I'd be allowed to,"
He added:
"The presidential pardons are, they say, the most powerful thing a president has. I certainly don't want to see innocent people go through h***."
Martin became the concrete example. Trump said Democrats would target even an honest communications advisor and force her into a grand jury process that drains savings and reputation.
"If she becomes a target, you know she's a very honest person, but they're going to drag her into a grand jury,"
He turned to her directly in front of the pool:
"She's standing right there. Margot, you're not going to have to worry about it, okay?"
No pardon list has been released. Trump has not announced any formal decision. He described openness and legal authority, not a signed batch of clemency warrants.
The remarks landed against a clear political calendar. Democrats have spent months previewing investigations of administration officials and Trump family business matters if they retake the House or Senate in November. Trump cast that plan as a repeat of the weaponization he says defined the prior four years.
Junior staffers often lack the personal wealth or legal teams that senior figures can deploy. Trump’s stated goal was to keep those aides from burning through their money defending themselves against what he views as partisan process, not legitimate oversight.
Presidential pardon power is broad. Trump noted that reality while tying any future use to fairness for people he calls innocent. He did not claim the power extends to covering up crimes; he claimed it can stop selective harassment of working-level officials once the other party controls the subpoena power.
Voters in Palm Beach County saw the president cast his own 2026 ballot, then heard him draw a straight line from past investigations to the next Congress. The message was simple: if Democrats turn majorities into a grand jury conveyor belt aimed at junior staff, the president will consider using the strongest tool he has to shut it down first.
Protecting honest public servants from political lawfare is not a loophole. It is the difference between accountability and a revenge machine that bankrupts the people who simply showed up for work.
