Trump said he would consider pre-emptive pardons to protect Elon Musk and other close aides should Democrats take control of Congress

Donald Trump said he would be willing to protect Elon Musk and his staff if Democrats take control of Congress after the midterm elections this week.

In an interview for the “Pod Force One” podcast published Monday, Trump said he would move to “protect” the billionaire SpaceX and Tesla CEO if Congressional investigators targeted him.

Trump also indicated that he was weighing pre-emptive pardons for his close aides and others around him should the Democrats pursue investigations, according to Axios. It is a notion that the president has floated before to keep his team from facing prosecution for actions during the first two years of his term.

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[–] 1 point 1 week ago (1 child)

He couldn't be compelled. If he was at risk of being charged with anything outside the scope of his pardon, he could still plead the fifth (which he did).

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  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

    As he should have, because it was a witch hunt being performed on a, to my knowledge, innocent man, and they were fishing for anything they could use without having any evidence of wrongdoing. He said in his diary he disliked the president and their behavior. That’s not a crime. And yes, on the matters he received a blanket pardon from actions performed “January 1, 2014, through January 19, 2025, arising from Fauci's service as NIAID Director, Chief Medical Advisor, or member of the White House coronavirus task forces”. If he refused to testify on specifics they can use their congressional powers to compel through their constitutional powers via imprisonment, fines, or both. (Brown v. Walker)

    Burdick v. United States Allows fauci to refuse his pardon or pardons and then employ his fifth amendment right. Also if someone being compelled has performed crimes or suspects they have or will be charged for state crimes they may invoke their fifth to protect themselves against that while also accepting a pardon, but they are still protected against federal charges.

    If congress had actually been interested in some truth or testimony from fauci to get to the bottom of some events, they could have used under 18 U.S.C. § 6005 via a U.S. District Court order a grant of immunity that would have allowed him to testify while protecting against malicious or resulting state prosecutions, but they offered no such deal, while also having no claims of evidence of impropriety, showing it was a fishing expedition and an attempt to get viral clips for political gain. Which they got by him invoking his fifth, causing morons across the Internet to then claim that proves guilt.

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