President Donald Trump’s associates are making appeals to him in the hopes of obtaining pardons before he leaves office, a source familiar with the matter told CNN on Tuesday.
The source said the list of associates broaching the subject of preemptive pardons that would seek to shield those individuals from prosecution includes Rudy Giuliani, who has been leading the President’s longshot legal battles to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in his role as Trump’s personal attorney.
The New York Times first reported that Giuliani is seeking a preemptive pardon.
Giuliani has denied discussing a preemptive pardon with the President, telling CNN that the “(New York) Times is completely wrong.” He further denied he has talked to anyone at the White House about a pardon for himself.
It’s not clear what potential criminal exposure Giuliani or other associates are attempting to preempt. But the source familiar with the discussions went on to cite what friends and allies of the President see as hostility from the incoming Biden administration toward Trump associates.
“Don’t trust the Dems,” the source said, describing the pardons being sought as “blanket” protection from future prosecution.
The appeals come on the heels of Trump’s decision to pardon his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn.
Last week, the President granted Flynn a full pardon, absolving him of charges related to lying to federal agents over his contact with the Russian ambassador to the United States.
Flynn’s pardon was Trump’s second act of clemency related to prosecutions of advisers of the President. Earlier this summer, Trump commuted the sentence of Roger Stone.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
