Trump says he would pardon Musk and aides if Democrats target them

President Donald Trump said he would not hesitate to issue pre-emptive pardons for Elon Musk, White House staff and other allies if Democrats win control of Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections and open investigations into them.

President Donald Trump said he would issue pre-emptive pardons to Elon Musk and administration aides if Democrats take control of Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections and move to investigate them. "I would not even think about it. I'd do it," Trump said in an interview on the Pod Force One podcast hosted by New York Post columnist Miranda Devine, released on Monday. "I did it for J6," he added, referring to his pardons of people charged over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Trump said he would "protect" Musk and any aides targeted by congressional investigators, including Edward Coristine, who worked on Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project, Bloomberg reported. He dismissed a suggestion that Democrats would move to nationalize Musk's SpaceX.

Trump and Musk outside the White House in March 2025 (file photo)

Congressional Democrats have signaled that they want to investigate Musk's alleged conflicts of interest as his companies receive federal contracts and subsidies, as well as his role in cutting federal jobs and accessing government data while he led DOGE, Politico reported last week. Musk left DOGE in May 2025.

"Democrats in Congress will investigate and uncover all the corrupt deals under the surface," Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee said on Monday. The Wall Street Journal reported in April that Trump had repeatedly promised his top officials pardons before he leaves office.