President-elect Donald Trump has suggested he could issue pardons to a string of controversial figures during his time on the campaign trail in what appear to be overtures to his base, vindication against what he claims is a corrupt justice system and rewards for loyalty to him.
President-elect Donald Trump points to his supporters as he leaves the stage after an election night ... [+]
Jan. 6 rioters: Trump has said repeatedly he would pardon people convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, though it’s unclear who among the more than 1,500 charged would be subject to pardons—he told reporters in July “if they’re innocent, I would pardon them,” while his campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told the Washington Post in June Trump would decide “on a case-by-case basis” who to pardon.
Already, some Jan. 6 defendants and their lawyers have referenced Trump’s pardon promises in court since his election Tuesday—a D.C. judge on Wednesday denied a request from convicted rioter Christopher Carnell to delay a hearing in his case, citing Trump’s “multiple clemency promises,” while attorney John Pierce, who represents Jan. 6 defendants, told NPR “we’re certainly going to seek pardons for all of our defendants.”
Ross Ulbricht: Supporters of Ulbricht—sentenced in 2015 to life in prison for creating and operating the dark web marketplace Silk Road—tweeted Friday “ROSS IS COMING HOME IN JANUARY,” thanking Trump, who pledged while speaking at the Libertarian National Convention in May that “on Day One, I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht” (commutation is different from a pardon as it does not absolve an individual of guilt, but instead reduces their sentence).
Hunter Biden: Trump suggested he was open to pardoning the president’s son, who was convicted of federal tax- and gun-related charges earlier this year and is set to be sentenced in both cases in December—Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt last month “I wouldn’t take it off the books . . . despite what they’ve done to me,” when Hewitt asked if he was open to pardoning the younger Biden, suggesting he was taking a moral high ground compared to the Justice Department, which he claims has unfairly prosecuted him.
Peter Navarro: Trump left open the possibility he would pardon his former trade adviser—who served a four-month prison sentence earlier this year on charges of contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena in connection with the House Jan. 6 Committee probe—telling reporters after voting Tuesday in Florida “he’s a good man, he was treated very unfairly,” calling Navarro a “great patriot” when asked if he would pardon him.
Navarro told the Wall Street Journal in May he would reject any pardon offer from Trump, because he wants to continue appealing his conviction, writing in a letter sent from prison “I will not give the Supreme Court any excuse to duck what is otherwise a landmark constitutional case.”
Julian Assange: Trump said in May in an interview with podcaster Tim Pool he would “give very serious consideration” to pardoning the WikiLeaks founder—who struck a deal with the U.S. government in June to plead guilty to publishing military secrets, securing his freedom after 12 years in the U.K.—some of it spent in prison—while fighting extradition to the U.S.
Journalists, social media users and Polymarket bettors have speculated about a long list of characters, while others facing criminal charges have made new requests to Trump after his election win on Tuesday. Journalists and prosecutors have suggested Trump could order the Justice Department to dismiss the federal corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams or pardon him if he’s convicted. Trump has said he predicted Adams would be indicted because of Adams’ sharp rhetoric regarding the migrant crisis in New York City, building on his baseless claims that the Justice Department is working at the Biden administration’s behest. “I know what it’s like to be persecuted by the D.O.J. for speaking out against open borders,” Trump said at a charity dinner in New York City last month, sympathizing with Adams. In another case that has links to Trump’s own criminal election interference charges in Georgia, Trump has said rapper Young Thug was being treated “very unfairly” during an interview with podcaster Adin Ross in August. The rapper recently agreed to plead guilty to drug- and gun-related charges in the racketeering case brought by Fulton County Prosecutor Fani Willis’ office, who also charged Trump under the state’s RICO statute. Washington Post columnist Phillip Bump also predicted Trump “would almost certainly quickly pardon” Todd and Julie Chrisley, the Atlanta reality TV stars serving prison time for federal tax evasion and bank fraud charges. Their daughter, Savannah Chrisley, spoke at the Republican National Convention and derided “rogue prosecutors . . . the Democrats’ corruption” and “the Biden family’s corruption” in what was widely viewed as a direct appeal to Trump to pardon her parents if he were elected.
The legality of the scenario is unclear as Trump is the first person elected president to have been convicted of a crime, but Trump previously dismissed the idea, telling NBC News last year, prior to his Manhattan hush money conviction, it was “very unlikely” he’d pardon himself, because he “didn’t do anything wrong.” Legal scholars are split on whether the Constitution would permit him to do so. George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley noted in a 2018 USA Today column that “there is no language” in the the Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, which lays out the terms for presidential pardons, that specifies “who may or may not be the subject of a pardon,” leaving open the possibility a president could pardon themself, though Turley writes that “it would be a disastrous idea.” Others, including law professors Laurence Tribe, Richard Painter and Norman Eisen, wrote for the Washington Post that because the Constitution prevents the president from using his pardon power to prevent his own impeachment and removal, and those who are removed through impeachment are subject to criminal prosecution, it “would make no sense if the president could pardon himself.”
It likely won’t be necessary for Trump to pardon himself in his federal election interference and classified documents cases as the Justice Department has a longstanding policy of declining to prosecute sitting presidents, and the agency is reportedly working to “wind down” the cases against Trump before he takes office, NBC News and CNN reported, citing anonymous sources. The Constitution prohibits Trump from pardoning cases at the state level, which rules out his ability to pardon himself in his New York criminal fraud case and his Fulton County, Georgia, election interference case.
- That’s how many people Trump pardoned during his first White House term. He also issued 94 commutations. Only two other presidents, George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush, granted fewer acts of clemency, according to Pew Research. Trump’s pardons were particularly controversial because many of the individuals had personal connections to the president, including former members of his 2016 campaign team, Steve Bannon, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, George Papadopoulos and former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.
Presidents have broad authority to issue pardons in ongoing and completed criminal, but not civil, federal cases under Article II Section 2 of the Constitution, which states the president “shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” Pardons do not wipe convictions from a person’s record, but instead eliminate some, but not all, penalties associated with a conviction. Individuals convicted of federal felonies and pardoned by the president would still be prohibited from voting in federal elections in some states, for example, according to the Brookings Institution. Pardoned individuals also do not have a right to a refund for a monetary fine or the seizure of assets or cash in connection with their criminal cases, unless the pardon was issued before the money or property was “fully vested in a person or entity” or if “the conditions of the pardon preclude this.”
Trump Pardons And Commutes 143 People On His Last Day — But Doesn’t Pardon His Family (Forbes)
Cybercriminal Ross Ulbricht’s Family Says He’ll Be Freed In January—Here’s What We Know (Forbes)
Trump Sprung: Here’s Why—And When—His Criminal Cases Will Get Dropped Or Delayed (Forbes)