Trump Is Already Weighing Pardons for His Inner Circle [View all]

Source: Daily Beast

Published Dec. 14 2025 2:30PM EST


Donald Trump is reportedly planning to pardon advisers, policymakers, and others as his administration weathers piling criminal allegations.

Three Trump insiders told the outlet Zeteo that Trump has said “they had to” pardon members of his inner circle and that it’s a “good idea” to do so before he leaves office. The conversations have been sporadic, they said, but have involved the president, senior aides, and federal appointees.

It’s not clear how expansive Trump’s pardon list would be. Still, it would likely include key policy advisers such as Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s hardline immigration agenda, whose push to expand ICE detentions dramatically and deportations has landed the administration in court and sparked protests and riots in American cities.

Trump’s inner circle has already begun positioning a defense, the sources told Zeteo. “Biden did it,” a senior Trump appointee told the outlet.

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-is-already-weighing-pardons-for-his-inner-circle/