WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 24: Donald Trump Jr. pre-records his address to the Republican National Convention at the Mellon Auditorium on August 24, 2020 in Washington, DC. The novel coronavirus pandemic has forced the Republican Party to move away from an in-person convention to a televised format, similar to the Democratic Party's convention a week earlier. (Image: Getty)
President Donald Trump has floated preemptively pardoning his three eldest children and son-in-law Jared Kushner after suggesting that President-elect Joe Biden would retaliate by using the Justice Department to prosecute his children and allies – something Trump has repeatedly tried to do as president.
Trump expressed concern that the Biden administration would use to the U.S. Justice Department to target three of his five children following Inauguration Day on Jan 20.
With pre-emptive pardons, Trump thinks that his three eldest children, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanaka Trump, as well as Ivanka’s husband, White House senior adviser Kushner, would not need to worry about federal investigations delving into their time in the White House.
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While the nature of Trump’s concern about Eric and Ivanka is unclear, the Manhattan district attorney has launched a pending investigation into the Trump Organization, chiefly concerning Ivanka’s taxes stemming from her yearly deductibles.
Kushner had been investigated after providing false information to federal authorities about his foreign contacts to gain security clearance.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller had placed Don Jr. under investigation for Russian contacts that Don Jr. had with the Russians offering damaging information on 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hilary Clinton during the 2016 campaign. However, Don Jr. was never formally charged.
Presidential pardons do not protect against state or local crimes, however.
Late last week, Trump also discussed the possibility of pardoning Rudy Giuliani, his personal lawyer.
Giuliani, a life-long ally of Trump’s, has repeatedly cast doubts on the results of the hotly contested election that the president refuses to concede using baseless allegations of voter fraud.
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