Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a Republican who on Thursday declared his candidacy for presidency, said he would "use the pardon power to heal the country" when asked whether he would pardon former President Donald Trump if elected.
"Look, I think Americans are bewildered by this whole situation. It's hard to understand how anyone, post- an elected official or presidency, can mishandle or handle classified information," Suarez said Friday during an appearance on MSNBC.
"You know, the president is innocent until proven guilty. He's got to respond to a jury of his peers, and so that process has to play out before any sort of a discussion on pardons can happen. But I will say this, if I became president of the United States, I think the pardon power — one of the possible reasons for using the pardon power — is to heal the country.
"So, you know, who knows what will happen? He's innocent until proven guilty. He has not been proven guilty. But certainly if I became president, one thing I would look at as president is using the pardon power to heal the country and that, by the way, doesn't go for one party; goes for both parties," he added.
Trump on Tuesday was charged in an indictment with 37 criminal counts, including violations of the Espionage Act, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and making false statements to investigators.
In January 2022, Trump agreed to return 15 boxes of records to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, and officials discovered in them more than 700 pages of records marked as classified.
Trump has claimed that the investigation is a politically motivated "witch hunt." He will likely argue that he is being selectively prosecuted, citing the fact that President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence have not been charged after it was discovered that both men retained classified records after leaving office.
The Biden documents stem from his time as a vice president and senator, and special counsel Robert Hur is in charge of the investigation found in Biden's possession.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.