The President and Pre-Emptive Pardons

<p>The power to pardon criminals or commute their sentences is one of the most sacred and absolute a president has, and President Trump has already used it to rescue political allies and answer the pleas of celebrities.</p><p>With his term coming to an end, the president has discussed granting three of his children, his son-in-law and personal lawyer pre-emptive pardons — a rarity in American history. </p><p>We look ahead to a potential wave of pardons and commutations — and explore who could benefit. </p><p><br /></p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/michael-s-schmidt?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"><strong>Michael S. Schmidt</strong></a>, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times. </p><p><br /></p><p>We want to hear from you. Fill out our survey about The Daily and other shows at: <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedailysurvey?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">nytimes.com/thedailysurvey</a></p><p><br /></p><p>For an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline" target="_blank">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. Read the latest edition <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/column/the-daily-newsletter" target="_blank">here</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Speculation about pardon activity at the White House is churning furiously, underscoring how much the Trump administration has been<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/01/us/politics/rudy-giuliani-pardon.html?searchResultPosition=1?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"> dominated by investigations and criminal prosecutions</a> of people in the president’s orbit.</li><li>The president’s pardoning of Michael Flynn, a former national security adviser,<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/us/politics/trump-pardons.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"> signals the prospect of a wave</a> of pardons and commutations in his final weeks in office. </li></ul><p><br /></p><p>For more informati