The acting attorney general said these officials could not be trusted to "faithfully implement the president's agenda."

None of them had said publicly that they wanted a pardon, and it’s not clear any of them would have accepted one. But some top Democrats, like Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, had endorsed the notion of preemptively pardoning prosecutors, particularly Smith.

Mr. Trump has declared on Truth Social that Mr. Smith “should be prosecuted for election interference & prosecutorial misconduct.” The president has also called him a “career criminal.” He also reposted the radio host Mark Levin’s view that “Jack Smith must go to prison.”

While President Joe Biden issued many pardons before leaving office, he did not pardon various individuals Trump has blasted who were connected to cases against the Republican figure.

President Biden issued pre-emptive pardons for Dr. Anthony Fauci and others who may have faced scrutiny under the incoming Donald Trump administration.

Smith’s letter cited John Adams for the “fundamental value of our democracy that we exist as ‘a government of laws, and not of men.’” But our prized “rule of law” must inevitably be administered by men and women who are subject to being undermined by political attack.

Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees go to the Senate; Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report goes public; and President Joe Biden bids farewell. If you can't access your feeds, please contact ...

Online users discussing this rumor pointed to an NBC News article published in the final days of Joe Biden's U.S. presidency.

One of Joe Biden’s final acts as president Monday ... pardon or pre-emptive pardon by Biden was former special counsel Jack Smith, who targeted President Trump in several prosecutions.

"With this action, I have now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history," President Joe Biden wrote in his announcement Friday.

Smith resigned from the Justice Department on ... as lawmakers convened to certify Joe Biden’s victory. Trump was separately charged in 2023 with mishandling reams of classified documents ...

Donald Trump's Justice Department dismissed the previous appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals about appointing special counsel Jack Smith. Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that Smith's appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional,