President Donald Trump has issued full, complete, and unconditional pardons to former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, ex-chief of staff Mark Meadows, and dozens of allies accused of efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.
The proclamation, announced by Justice Department official Ed Martin on X, covers at least 77 individuals and describes the pardons as addressing a grave national injustice while advancing national reconciliation.
None of the recipients faced federal charges related to the election challenges, rendering the pardons largely symbolic as they do not apply to ongoing or potential state prosecutions.
The pardoned include attorneys Sidney Powell, John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis, and former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, along with Republicans who served as fake electors in several states.
These individuals were involved in promoting unsubstantiated claims of election fraud, submitting alternative elector certificates, or advising on strategies to retain Trump in power despite Biden's certified victories.
The pardon explicitly excludes Trump himself, who continues to assert the 2020 election was stolen and was previously indicted federally in a case dismissed after his 2024 victory due to policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.
State cases in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin have encountered delays, dismissals, or roadblocks, with Michigan charges against 15 fake electors dropped in September.
Pardons apply solely to federal crimes, leaving recipients vulnerable to state-level consequences, such as Giuliani's disbarment in New York and Washington, D.C., and a $148 million defamation judgment.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the individuals were persecuted for challenging an election, a cornerstone of democracy.
The action follows Trump's earlier pardons of hundreds involved in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot and underscores his promotion of the stolen election narrative, despite court rulings, recounts, and investigations finding no outcome-altering fraud.