United States (U.S.) Donald Trump is set to leave the White House and fly out of DC before 8am on the morning of Joe Biden’s inauguration after issuing around 100 pardons to white-collar criminals, high-profile rappers and a jailed Florida eye-doctor, according to media reports.
The outgoing president is due to hold a farewell ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, in Maryland, tomorrow. He will then depart the nation’s capital on Air Force One and head to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida before his successor is sworn in.
White House aides have reportedly sent out invitations for the event, with guests instructed to arrive between 6am and 7:15am. Specific details regarding the ceremony are said to still be under consideration, but it may include a colour guard and 21-gun salute.
Attendees are permitted to bring up to five guests but have been instructed to wear masks throughout.
For his final full day in office today, Trump is also reportedly gearing up to issue around 100 pardons and commutations after weeks of speculation.
A rumoured recipient of one of the clemency actions is Dr. Salomon Melgen, an eye doctor from Palm Beach, who was imprisoned in 2018 after being convicted on dozens of counts of health care fraud.
So far, Trump has reportedly made no plans to pardon himself or his children, CNN reported. The White House reportedly held a meeting on Sunday to finalise the list of pardons, according to two sources.
Trump had previously issued a number of pardons in the lead up to Christmas, but allegedly put them on pause in the days before and after the riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
White House aides told CNN Trump was entirely focused on the Electoral College count in the days preceding the riot, which prevented him from finalising his decision on pardons. Officials then expected him to resume of January 6, but he reportedly withdrew after being blamed for inciting the insurrection.
Trump’s batch of clemency actions is expected to include a mixture of criminal justice reform-minded pardons, in addition to more controversial ones issued to his political allies.
He could also decide at the last minute to grant pardons to members of his family or even himself, though that’s not thought to be currently under consideration.
Trump’s desire to pardon himself, his children, and his personal layer Rudy Giuliani has said to have been complicated by the Capitol riots – an event which led to his second impeachment.
The 45th U.S. president was reportedly advised to forgo a self-pardon in the riot’s wake, because it would appear as if he was guilty of something, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.
Trump was further advised to refrain from granting clemency to anyone involved in the deadly attack on the Capitol, in contrast to his initial stance that those involved were ‘patriots’ who had done nothing wrong.
“There are a lot of people urging the President to pardon the folks (involved in the riots),” Senator Lindsey Graham told Fox News. “To seek a pardon of these people would be wrong,” Graham said.
While Trump is expected to leave the White House early tomorrow morning, he could continue to issue pardons up until noon on Inauguration Day.
Other high profile names such as Wikileaks founder Julian Assange are also not currently believed to be among those set to receive a pardon, though the list is said to be fluid.
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