US President Donald Trump has issued a sweeping series of pardons to several of his closest allies implicated in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to former president Joe Biden, according to an official statement released late on Sunday.
In a Justice Department announcement posted on X, the White House said the president had granted a “full, complete, and unconditional pardon” to dozens of individuals, including Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s former personal lawyer and one-time New York City mayor; Sidney Powell, an attorney who pushed unfounded election fraud claims; and Mark Meadows, Trump’s former White House chief of staff.
“This proclamation ends a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 Presidential Election and continues the process of national reconciliation,” the statement said.
The proclamation, dated November 7, specifies that the pardons apply only to federal charges and “do not apply to President Trump himself,” who is shielded from prosecution while in office.
Several of the recipients have also faced state-level cases, particularly in Georgia, over efforts to subvert election results — cases that would not be affected by the federal clemency order.
‘Reward loyalty and undermine accountability’
Trump’s decision marks one of the most far-reaching uses of presidential pardon power in modern history and follows earlier controversial acts of clemency — including pardons for all individuals convicted in connection with the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, even those found guilty of assaulting law enforcement officers.
Critics immediately condemned the move as a political manoeuvre designed to reward loyalty and undermine accountability.
Democratic lawmakers accused Trump of “weaponising” presidential authority to protect his allies, while civil rights groups warned the decision could erode public confidence in the rule of law.
Neither the White House nor the Office of the Pardon Attorney responded to media requests for comment, CNN reported.
The latest pardons come days after Trump granted clemency to a retired New York police officer convicted of spying for China and to former baseball star Darryl Strawberry, who faced a decades-old tax evasion charge.
