President Trump late Sunday night issued preemptive pardons to 77 people charged with attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, including his former personal attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani and attorneys Sidney Powell and John Eastman.
U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin posted on X just before 11 p.m. the entire list of all those granted pardons, each of whom was Mr. Trump’s co-defendants who faced charges related to the 2020 “fake electors” case.
Mr. Martin posted the pardon document on X, saying in a reply to his May 26, 2025, post that stated “No MAGA left behind.”
Other Trump allies who received pardons included former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former Trump adviser Christina Bobb and longtime adviser Boris Epshteyn.
Mr. Trump, who signed the pardons Friday, did not pardon himself.
“This pardon does not apply to the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump,” a line near the end of the pardon document stated.
None of those pardoned were ever charged with federal crimes, but the pardons preclude future federal prosecutions. Former special counsel Jack Smith had identified Mr. Giuliani, Mr. Eastman, Ms. Powell and others as Mr. Trump’s co-conspirators in an election subversion case but never brought charges against them.
Mr. Trump granted a “full, complete and unconditional pardon” to all 77 people “for conduct relating to the advice, creation organization, execution, submission, support, voting activities, participation in or advocacy for or of any slate or proposed slate of presidential electors, whether or not recognized by any state or state official in connection with the 2020 Presidential Election…”
This includes “any conduct relating to their efforts to expose voting fraud and vulnerabilities in the 2020 presidential election.”
Jeffrey Clark, a former Trump DOJ attorney from his first term who now serves as acting administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, thanked Mr. Trump on X for his pardon.
“It was totally unexpected — I never lobbied for any form of pardon,” he wrote. “I did nothing wrong when I questioned the 2020 election in Georgia, including by drafting an unsent privileged letter urging Georgia officials to launch their own investigations and then decide for themselves how to proceed.”
He added, “I shouldn’t have had to battle this witch hunt for 4+ years. Trump’s group pardon applies to me and others, aiming to end the lawfare.”
The pardons for Mr. Clark and the others only apply to federal charges, which were never filed by the Biden Justice Department. The pardons act as preemptive clemency for any future federal charges.
State prosecutions are unaffected by presidential pardons.
The preemptive pardons were similar to the clemencies President Biden granted shortly before leaving office. He preemptively pardoned members of his family, Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark A. Milley, Anthony S. Fauci and members of House Democrats’ Jan. 6 committee who investigated Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump was charged with a federal felony indictment accusing him of plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The cases were dropped when Mr. Trump won reelection under a long-standing policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.
Mr. Giuliani, Ms. Powell, Mr. Eastman and Mr. Clark were alleged co-conspirators in that case but were never charged.
Mr. Giuliani, Mr. Meadows and others named in the pardon had been charged by state prosecutors in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin over the 2020 election. Those cases hit repeated roadblocks or were dismissed.
A judge in September dismissed the Michigan case against 15 Republicans accused of attempting to falsely certify Trump as the winner of the election in that battleground state.
The move follows the vast pardons granted by Mr. Trump, on the day of his inauguration this year, of the hundreds of Trump supporters charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“This proclamation ends a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 Presidential Election and continues the process of national reconciliation,” Mr. Trump wrote in the pardon document.
• This story includes wire service reports.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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