Trump Says He Would Pardon His Staff 'If I Needed To' if Democrats Take Congress and Pursue Prosecutions
President Donald Trump said he would issue preemptive pardons to people who worked in his administration if Democrats win control of Congress on Tuesday and move to prosecute them, according to an interview with the New York Post's Miranda Devine.
"I would if I needed to. Sure," Trump said on the Post's "Pod Force One" podcast. Asked whether that would apply to everyone who has worked for him, he said, "I'd do it. I did it for J6."
The interview was released Monday, the day before the midterm elections. In a clip from the same interview posted by the Post, Trump talked about his final rallies of the campaign, saying some drew "45,000, 50,000 people, maybe more." That is his claim; crowd sizes have not been independently verified.
Video: New York Post, "Pod Force One" (Nov. 2, 2026)
What Trump Said About Pardons
Trump pointed to former President Joe Biden, who issued preemptive pardons in his final hours in office in January 2025 to Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, members and staff of the House Jan. 6 committee and several of his own relatives. "That's what Biden did. He gave everybody a pardon," Trump said.
His Jan. 20, 2025, proclamation on Jan. 6 cases commuted the sentences of 14 named people and granted "a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses" related to the Capitol riot. The Post put that number at roughly 1,500.
The question came after Democratic leaders described what they would do with a majority. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said at an Oct. 13 University of Chicago event that Democrats should pursue "signature cases" against officials who helped Trump, adding, "I want that deterrence message sent," according to Fox News. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who is in line to lead the House Judiciary Committee if Democrats win the House, has promised to investigate what he calls the administration's "systemic corruption," the Post reported.
Asked about talk on the left of going after Elon Musk or former Department of Government Efficiency staffers, Trump said, "It won't happen. It's talk. But if it is talk, we'll have to protect them." Asked whether he himself was a target, he said, "Well, I don't know about me." He also called polls showing Democrats favored to win the House "rigged," which is his claim and not verified.
Trump raised the idea in public on Oct. 25, telling reporters it "would be very unfair to go through what we went through for four years with the corrupt weaponization that took place," and that he did not "want to see innocent people go through hell and lose all their money."
What a Pardon Can and Cannot Cover
A presidential pardon applies only to federal offenses. It does not stop state prosecutions or civil lawsuits, and the Constitution bars pardons "in Cases of Impeachment."
Congressional investigations would also run into a newer legal argument. In an Aug. 10 opinion, the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel concluded that executive privilege "can apply to presidential communications with private advisers" when the communications relate to official decisions, involve the president or his direct advisers, and are confidential. The Post reported that the White House counsel's office has added lawyers ahead of possible Democratic probes and that some lower-level officials have bought legal insurance.
Polls open Tuesday, Nov. 3, with control of the House and Senate on the ballot.
Sources: New York Post, "Trump reveals he'll use preemptive pardons to protect staff, allies if Dems take Congress" (Nov. 2, 2026): https://nypost.com/2026/11/02/us-news/trump-says-hell-use-preemptive-pardons-to-protect-staff-allies-if-dems-take-congress/ ; New York Post on X, "Pod Force One" clip (Nov. 2, 2026): https://x.com/nypost/status/2117248111727018240 ; New York Post, "Trump allies brace for massive legal bills if GOP loses midterms" (Nov. 2, 2026): https://nypost.com/2026/11/02/us-news/trump-allies-brace-for-massive-legal-bills-if-gop-loses-midterms-but-have-new-way-to-fight-dem-probes/ ; The White House, Proclamation granting pardons and commutations related to Jan. 6, 2021 (Jan. 20, 2025): https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/granting-pardons-and-commutation-of-sentences-for-certain-offenses-relating-to-the-events-at-or-near-the-united-states-capitol-on-january-6-2021/ ; U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel, "Applicability of Executive Privilege to Presidential Communications with Private Advisers" (Aug. 10, 2026): https://www.justice.gov/olc/media/1457271/dl ; Fox News, "Trump weighs MASS pardons after Dem's WARNING to staffers" (Oct. 25, 2026): https://www.foxnews.com/video/6407383042112 ; Fox News, "How House Democrats' 'deterrence message' on Trump jobs could backfire": https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-democrats-deterrence-message-trump-jobs-could-backfire-former-federal-prosecutor-warns ; U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 2: https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-2/section-2/ ; Cover photo: official presidential portrait of Donald Trump (2025) by Daniel Torok, The White House, public domain: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Official_Presidential_Portrait_of_President_Donald_J._Trump_(2025).jpg
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