Individuals who risk prosecution under the incoming Trump administration could receive preemptive pardons. President Joe Biden said he was considering issuing pardons like this in order to shield key figures from prosecution.

Biden demonstrated a novel use of pardons like this when he granted his son, Hunter Biden, a pardon for any potential crimes committed between January 2014 and December 2024. The president has been pressed to give similar pardons to others, although he has not fully committed to doing so.