Donald Trump has drawn up a list of at least a dozen people he wants to pardon before leaving office, reports say – with himself high on the list.
Amid calls for Trump to be stripped of his powers before Joe Biden is sworn in on January 20, the New York Times reported that the president has spoken to his advisors about the possibility of granting himself a self-pardon in his remaining days in office.
It is unclear if such a self-pardon would stand up in court, because no president has ever tried it before. Richard Nixon was pardoned by President Gerald Ford when he resigned after Watergate.
Trump has also considered pardons for family members Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, it is believed, as well as Don Jr’s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle.
Also thought to be in the frame is personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who spoke to a rally crowd on Wednesday urging ‘trial by combat’ shortly before a mob overran the Capitol.
The list also includes current and former White House aides such as chief of staff Mark Meadows, personal assistant John McEntee and senior adviser Stephen Miller, it is claimed – as well as former personal lawyer Albert Pirro.
Trump’s list also includes the rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black, Bloomberg reported. Black served time in prison on weapons charges. Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., whose stage name is Lil Wayne, served time on weapons charges.
Trump has told advisors since Election Day that he was thinking about the idea of a self-pardon, even as he doled out pardons to political supporters like former national security advisor Gen. Mike Flynn, who withdrew his guilty plea to lying to the FBI in the Russia probe.
Trump has tweeted that he has the power to self-pardon but has said he doesn’t need one. The U.S. Attorney in D.C. said Thursday that the office would investigate those who instigated the rioters who stormed the Capitol, not just the vandals themselves.