Sen. Patty Murray slams Trump for signalling mass pardons for White House staff

A high-ranking Senate Democrat slammed President Donald Trump over a report suggesting he promised mass pardons to top White House staff. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash) expressed outrage after Trump reportedly said he would grant clemency en masse to anyone who came within 200 feet of the Oval Office, calling it “blatant and historic corruption.” Murray questioned what kind of crimes the White House staff was committing and took a jab at Trump's past legal issues as well.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Donald Trump allegedly said he would issue pardons en masse to his closest advisers at the end of his second presidency, during a meeting at the White House. Citing an anonymous source, the publication reported the president saying, “I’ll pardon everyone who has come within 200 feet of the Oval [Office],” which drew laughs from the room. Sharing the report on X, Sen. Murray slammed the president, questioning, “What kind of crimes are being committed that White House staff would need pardons for?" She went on to add that "This is blatant and historic corruption,” while taking a jab at the president’s legal track record, saying, “Criminals should NOT be running the White House.” Murray had previously called for Trump's removal from office after he issued threats of wiping out a civilization in Iran. 

The WSJ cited another source that claimed Trump had used the line in a previous conversation, but he mentioned a smaller radius. He said he would pardon anyone who came within 10 feet of the presidential office, a criterion that seems to have expanded. However, no details were given about the mass pardons, but the report suggested a press conference could be held in the future to announce the sweeping pardons. When White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about the claims mentioned in the report, she said, “The Wall Street Journal should learn to take a joke," dismissing the gravitas of Trump's comments. "However, the president’s pardon power is absolute," she added, possibly signalling future pardons. 

Since taking office for the second time, Trump has pardoned over 1,800 people in an act that was framed as a rebuke to the justice system, according to The Guardian. On the first day of his presidency, he granted clemency to all 1,500-plus people charged in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, which shook the nation. While the move drew criticism, on Tuesday, the Trump administration moved to clear the last remaining convictions related to the insurrection, as some still stood after Trump's mass pardons last year. A filing was submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by the office of the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, asking the court to “vacate” the convictions of four members of the Proud Boys: Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola, CNBC reported. The convictions for the four came in 2023 on multiple felony charges, and all of them but Pezzola were found guilty of seditious conspiracy.