“President Trump has discussed with advisers whether to grant pre-emptive pardons to his children, to his son-in-law and to his personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani, and talked with Mr. Giuliani about pardoning him as recently as last week,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Trump has told others that he is concerned that a Biden Justice Department might seek retribution against the president by targeting the oldest three of his five children — Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump — as well as Ms. Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner, a White House senior adviser.”

“Trump allies and other lawyers have begun a campaign to petition the West Wing in hopes of securing pardons for those who might receive a sympathetic reception from the president,” ABC News reports.

“One idea that has been floated among Trump allies is the possibility of preemptive pardons for members of the Trump family and close allies of the president.”

“It’s not clear how this kind of preemptive pardon would work, given that no member of the Trump family has been accused of a federal crime. However sources pushing for this action say the argument is an ‘insurance policy’ against concerns that the incoming Biden administration could undertake politically motivated investigations.”

“Attorney General William Barr has given extra protection to the prosecutor he appointed to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, giving him the authority of a special counsel to complete his work without being easily fired,” the AP reports.

“Barr said that he had appointed U.S. Attorney John Durham as a special counsel in October under the same federal statute that governed special counsel Robert Mueller in the original Russia probe.”

Axios: “It’s an extra layer of protection for Durham to continue investigating possible misconduct by Obama-era intelligence officials past Joe Biden’s inauguration as president.”