It was unclear who will be included in this batch.

Sen. Rand Paul called on Trump to pardon Edward Snowden in an article for The Federalist on Thursday. A source with direct knowledge of the planning said they did not expect Trump to follow through with a Snowden pardon.

The big picture: Trump has considered several controversial pardons, including for his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

The president has even mulled preemptive pardons for family members, per the New York Times, concerned that President-elect Joe Biden will target them. Biden has said his Justice Department would be apolitical.