Can the president pardon someone who has not been convicted of anything?
Preemptive or anticipatory pardons are used on occasion, usually with the belief they are serving a national interest. Such a pardon was issued to President Richard Nixon by President Gerald Ford. The pardon covered all the offenses Nixon “committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974.” Another preemptive pardon was issued a few years later by President Jimmy Carter, absolving any person during the Vietnam era that “violated the Military Selective Service Act by draft-evasion acts.”