WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has said in a series of interviews over the past month that he is prepared to issue preemptive pardons to members of his administration. In his latest remarks, he extended that to billionaire Elon Musk and other allies if Democrats win control of the House and open investigations.

The comments came ahead of Tuesday's midterm elections, which will decide whether Republicans keep their majorities in Congress. Trump has framed possible pardons as protection against what he describes as politically motivated investigations. He has repeatedly pointed to former President Joe Biden's end-of-term pardons as a precedent.

In early October, a reporter asked Trump whether he planned to pardon his top aides before leaving office. "It's not something I'm thinking about now," Trump said, though he added that he believed he could do whatever he wanted.

His comments since then have been more direct.

In an interview with Time magazine, published Oct. 1, Trump was asked whether he was considering pardoning members of his administration before the end of his term. "Yeah, sure I'd do that," he said.

He pointed to Biden, saying the former president "gave pardons to everyone." In the same interview, he predicted that Democrats would go after him if they won the House and said he would go after them in return.

In mid-October, Trump returned to the topic in an interview with Newsmax host Rob Finnerty. Asked whether he was considering a pardon for himself, Trump said he did not think about it because he had done nothing........

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