{ "ledger": "pardons", "updated": "2026-09-30", "origin": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/", "license": "CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Free to reuse, including commercially, with attribution to The Inner Circle Ledger and to the sources cited in each row.", "entries": [ { "id": "paul-walczak", "name": "Paul Walczak", "date": "2025-04-23", "kind": "Pardon", "offense": "Employment-tax crimes; sentenced to 18 months and $4.4 million restitution.", "link": "His mother, Elizabeth Fago, attended a MAGA Inc. fundraising dinner at Mar-a-Lago priced at $1 million per person about three weeks before the pardon. Walczak’s pardon application cited her fundraising for Trump and other Republicans.", "record": [ "The New York Times, as summarized by The Hill and Rolling Stone, reported the dinner and the timing. Walczak had pleaded guilty in November 2024 to not paying employment taxes and not filing his individual income tax returns, The Hill reported, citing the Justice Department. The Justice Department said his conduct caused a total tax loss to the IRS of $10,912,334.80.", "FEC filings show a $1,000,000 contribution to MAGA Inc. from Elizabeth Fago of Juno Beach, Florida, dated April 3, 2025, twenty days before the pardon.", "The pardon spared him both the prison sentence and the restitution obligation, The Hill reported." ], "response": "The cited reports do not include a response from Walczak. A White House official told The New York Times that Walczak was “targeted by the Biden administration over his family’s conservative politics,” Rolling Stone reported. The Daily Beast reported in August 2025 that a White House official told the Times the pardon was inspired by Fago’s plea as a mother, not by her donation.", "correction": "An earlier version said the White House did not dispute the sequence in those reports, and described Walczak as convicted of failing to pay more than $10.9 million in taxes. A White House official told The New York Times that Walczak had been targeted over his family’s politics and, The Daily Beast reported, that the pardon followed his mother’s plea as a mother rather than her donation. Walczak pleaded guilty in November 2024 to not paying employment taxes and not filing his individual returns; $10,912,334.80 is the total tax loss the Justice Department attributed to his conduct. Two source dates were corrected from May 15 to May 27, 2025. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Pardon granted", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Trump pardoned man 1 month after mother attended $1M per person fundraiser: Report", "publisher": "The Hill", "url": "https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5319932-trump-pardon-paul-walczak/", "date": "2025-05-27", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump pardons Paul Walczak after mother attends fundraiser", "publisher": "Rolling Stone", "url": "https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-pardons-paul-walczak-mother-fundraiser-1235348794/", "date": "2025-05-27", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "List of people granted executive clemency in the second Trump presidency", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executive_clemency_in_the_second_Trump_presidency", "date": "2026-09-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Trump PAC Filing Reveals Pay-for-Access Scheme", "publisher": "The Daily Beast", "url": "https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-pac-filing-reveals-pay-for-access-scheme/", "date": "2025-08-02", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Owner Of Florida Health Care Companies Sentenced for Employment Tax Crimes", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/owner-florida-health-care-companies-sentenced-employment-tax-crimes", "date": "2025-04-11", "kind": "Primary record" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/paul-walczak/", "named_people": [], "fec": [ { "date": "2025-04-03", "amount": 1000000, "committee": "MAGA INC.", "committee_id": "C00892471", "contributor_as_filed": "FAGO, ELIZABETH", "city": "JUNO BEACH", "state": "FL", "occupation": "BUSINESS WOMAN", "filing_pdf": "https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202507319789366228", "transaction_id": "SA17.4481", "memo": false, "memo_text": "", "line": "17" } ] }, { "id": "trevor-milton", "name": "Trevor Milton", "date": "2025-03-27", "kind": "Pardon", "offense": "Securities and wire fraud (Nikola); sentenced to four years; prosecutors sought roughly $660 million in shareholder restitution plus about $15 million to a separate victim.", "link": "Milton and his wife gave more than $1.8 million to committees supporting Trump’s 2024 campaign, including $920,000 to the Trump 47 Committee in October 2024 and $750,000 to the Make America Healthy Again Alliance. His trial lawyer was Brad Bondi, brother of Attorney General Pam Bondi.", "record": [ "The pardon was issued before the court finished the restitution process and remitted any restitution ordered. Democratic Judiciary Committee staff count the Milton pardon among grants that erased victim repayment.", "FEC filings under Milton’s name show $920,000 to the Trump 47 Committee on October 10, 2024, of which the Republican National Committee reports about $408,000 as its joint-fundraising share, and $750,000 to the MAHA Alliance on September 18, 2024. On September 24, 2025, a $100,000 contribution under his name went to Lone Star Liberty PAC, a super PAC backing Ken Paxton’s U.S. Senate campaign in Texas, according to the PAC’s FEC filings." ], "response": "Milton, who had denied wrongdoing and was appealing his conviction, announced the pardon, calling it a “pardon of innocence” and saying it was about “every American who has been railroaded by the government.” Trump told reporters Milton had been unfairly prosecuted, was “highly recommended” and “did nothing wrong,” and said he did not know him. A person close to the situation told the Financial Times that Brad Bondi had not been involved in the pardon. Brad Bondi declined to comment.", "correction": "An earlier version listed about $408,000 to the Republican National Committee as a separate gift, and the FEC table added joint-fundraising memo rows to the total on file, giving $2,397,600. The RNC reports the $408,000 as its joint-fundraising share of the $920,000 given to the Trump 47 Committee. Memo rows are now labeled and excluded, and the total on file is $1,947,900. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Pardon granted; restitution not collected", "people": [ "donald-trump", "pam-bondi" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Who is Trevor Milton, the startup founder and donor pardoned by Trump", "publisher": "The Hill", "url": "https://thehill.com/business/5221471-who-is-trevor-milton-nikola-pardon/", "date": "2025-03-29", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump pardons Nikola EV founder who donated US$1.8m to re-election campaign", "publisher": "Malay Mail (AFP)", "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2025/03/29/trump-pardons-nikola-ev-founder-who-donated-us18m-to-re-election-campaign/171294", "date": "2025-03-29", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump pardons Musk rival represented by AG Pam Bondi’s brother", "publisher": "Yahoo News", "url": "https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-pardons-musk-rival-represented-164657435.html", "date": "2025-03-28", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Democratic staff memo on the $1.3 billion cost of Trump pardons", "publisher": "House Judiciary Committee Democrats", "url": "https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2025-06-17.dem-memo-re-$1.3b-cost-of-trump-pardons.pdf", "date": "2025-06-17", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "United States v. Trevor Milton, S1 21 Cr. 478 (ER): government letter on restitution, ECF 361", "publisher": "U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York", "url": "https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.564175/gov.uscourts.nysd.564175.361.0.pdf", "date": "2025-03-14", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "LONE STAR LIBERTY PAC - committee overview", "publisher": "Federal Election Commission", "url": "https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00901223/?tab=spending", "date": "2026-09-18", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Nikola’s Trevor Milton pardoned by Donald Trump", "publisher": "Financial Times", "url": "https://www.ft.com/content/bc59392e-ac59-47cf-9685-dbb79da55c6b", "date": "2025-03-28", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/trevor-milton/", "named_people": [], "fec": [ { "date": "2025-09-24", "amount": 100000, "committee": "LONE STAR LIBERTY PAC", "committee_id": "C00901223", "contributor_as_filed": "MILTON, TREVOR", "city": "PHOENIX", "state": "AZ", "occupation": "ENTREPRENUER", "filing_pdf": "https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202601299794444409", "transaction_id": "SA11AI.4392", "memo": false, "memo_text": "", "line": "11AI" }, { "date": "2024-10-30", "amount": 56600, "committee": "KENNEDY VICTORY FUND 2024", "committee_id": "C00883751", "contributor_as_filed": "MILTON, TREVOR", "city": "PHOENIX", "state": "AZ", "occupation": "NOT EMPLOYED", "filing_pdf": "https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202412049720282643", "transaction_id": "ABA1C4D5B741C40BFBC8", "memo": false, "memo_text": "", "line": "11AI" }, { "date": "2024-10-10", "amount": 920000, "committee": "TRUMP 47 COMMITTEE, INC.", "committee_id": "C00867937", "contributor_as_filed": "MILTON, TREVOR R", "city": "PHEONIX", "state": "AZ", "occupation": "", "filing_pdf": "https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202412059731347336", "transaction_id": "SA11AI.135166770", "memo": false, "memo_text": "", "line": "11AI" }, { "date": "2024-10-10", "amount": 123900, "committee": "REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE", "committee_id": "C00003418", "contributor_as_filed": "MILTON, TREVOR R. MR.", "city": "PHOENIX", "state": "AZ", "occupation": "ENTREPRENEUR", "filing_pdf": "https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202504019755003379", "transaction_id": "SA17.126779879", "memo": true, "memo_text": "JFC ATTRIB: TRUMP 47 COMMITTEE", "line": "17" }, { "date": "2024-10-10", "amount": 123900, "committee": "REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE", "committee_id": "C00003418", "contributor_as_filed": "MILTON, TREVOR R. MR.", "city": "PHOENIX", "state": "AZ", "occupation": "ENTREPRENEUR", "filing_pdf": "https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202603189853608048", "transaction_id": "SA17.140601474", "memo": true, "memo_text": "2024 AGGREGATE; JFC ATTRIB: TRUMP 47 COMMITTEE", "line": "17" }, { "date": "2024-10-10", "amount": 119300, "committee": "REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE", "committee_id": "C00003418", "contributor_as_filed": "MILTON, TREVOR R. MR.", "city": "PHOENIX", "state": "AZ", "occupation": "ENTREPRENEUR", "filing_pdf": "https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202504019755003586", "transaction_id": "SA17.126785524", "memo": true, "memo_text": "JFC ATTRIB: TRUMP 47 COMMITTEE", "line": "17" }, { "date": "2024-10-10", "amount": 41300, "committee": "REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE", "committee_id": "C00003418", "contributor_as_filed": "MILTON, TREVOR R. MR.", "city": "PHOENIX", "state": "AZ", "occupation": "ENTREPRENEUR", "filing_pdf": "https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202504019754868587", "transaction_id": "SA12.124038604", "memo": true, "memo_text": "JFC ATTRIB: TRUMP 47 COMMITTEE", "line": "12" }, { "date": "2024-09-18", "amount": 750000, "committee": "MAHA ALLIANCE", "committee_id": "C00888172", "contributor_as_filed": "MILTON, TREVOR R.", "city": "PHOENIX", "state": "AZ", "occupation": "SELF EMPLOYED", "filing_pdf": "https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202410159685367931", "transaction_id": "SA11A.266217", "memo": false, "memo_text": "", "line": "11AI" }, { "date": "2024-09-16", "amount": 41300, "committee": "LIBERTARIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE, INC.", "committee_id": "C00255695", "contributor_as_filed": "MILTON, TREVOR", "city": "PHOENIX", "state": "AZ", "occupation": "NONE", "filing_pdf": "https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202505129760943854", "transaction_id": "SA12.261780", "memo": true, "memo_text": "", "line": "12" }, { "date": "2024-09-05", "amount": 121300, "committee": "KENNEDY VICTORY FUND 2024", "committee_id": "C00883751", "contributor_as_filed": "MILTON, TREVOR", "city": "PHOENIX", "state": "AZ", "occupation": "NOT EMPLOYED", "filing_pdf": "https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202410159685499802", "transaction_id": "AA840A9CFADCD4C49BE4", "memo": false, "memo_text": "", "line": "11AI" } ] }, { "id": "changpeng-zhao", "name": "Changpeng “CZ” Zhao (Binance)", "date": "2025-10-21", "kind": "Pardon", "offense": "Pleaded guilty in 2023 to failing to maintain an anti-money-laundering program at Binance; served four months.", "link": "Binance retained lobbyist Ches McDowell of Checkmate Government Relations, a longtime friend of Donald Trump Jr. Bloomberg reported that Binance paid the firm $450,000 for one month’s work lobbying the White House and the Treasury Department on financial policy issues and “executive relief.” Separately, Abu Dhabi fund MGX paid a $2 billion investment into Binance using USD1, the stablecoin issued by the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial.", "record": [ "The pardon followed months of lobbying. Congressional Democrats opened an inquiry into pay-to-play questions around pardon recipients including Zhao." ], "response": "Zhao’s lawyer, Teresa Goody Guillén, denied any connection between Binance’s business with the Trump family and the pardon, telling the AP that “any claim of a quid pro quo by Binance or CZ, or preferential financial treatment by Binance, is a clear misstatement of the public record.” The White House said Zhao had been unfairly punished in the Biden administration’s “war on crypto.”", "correction": "An earlier version dated the pardon October 23, 2025, the day it was announced. The Justice Department list dates it October 21, 2025. The earlier version also put “any connection” in quotation marks as the words of Zhao’s lawyer; that was the AP’s summary, and the entry now quotes her statement. Corrected September 18, 2026. An earlier version also said Binance retained McDowell under a contract reported at nearly half a million dollars for four weeks of work on “executive relief.” Bloomberg reported that Binance paid Checkmate $450,000 for one month’s work lobbying the White House and the Treasury Department on financial policy issues and “executive relief.” Corrected September 30, 2026.", "status": "Pardon granted; congressional inquiry opened", "people": [ "donald-trump", "donald-trump-jr" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Trump pardons Binance founder Changpeng Zhao", "publisher": "PBS NewsHour (Associated Press)", "url": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-pardons-binance-founder-changpeng-zhao", "date": "2025-10-23", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Binance founder’s pardon shows power of Trump allies on K Street", "publisher": "Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance", "url": "https://finance.yahoo.com/news/binance-founder-pardon-shows-power-140000903.html", "date": "2025-10-24", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "What to know about Trump’s pardon of Binance’s founder", "publisher": "Time", "url": "https://time.com/7328278/what-to-know-about-trumps-pardon-of-binances-founder/", "date": "2025-10-23", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump pardon recipients face congressional investigation over “pay-to-play” questions", "publisher": "CBS News", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pardon-recipients-democrats-congressional-investigation-pay-to-play/", "date": "2026-05-07", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "How the Trump family’s business deals could open the door for future presidents to profit from office", "publisher": "PBS NewsHour (Associated Press)", "url": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/how-the-trump-familys-business-deals-could-open-the-door-for-future-presidents-to-profit-from-office", "date": "2026-04-13", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/changpeng-zhao/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "todd-julie-chrisley", "name": "Todd and Julie Chrisley", "date": "2025-05-28", "kind": "Pardon", "offense": "Bank fraud and tax evasion convictions (2022); restitution of $17.3 million (Todd) and $4.7 million (Julie) per the Justice Department’s clemency list.", "link": "Daughter Savannah Chrisley spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention and campaigned for Trump. NBC News reported that Brett Tolman, a former federal prosecutor who advised the White House on pardons, helped the Chrisleys.", "record": [ "ABC News reported on May 28, 2025, citing a source familiar with the situation, that both had been released from Bureau of Prisons custody after the pardons were signed that day. NBC News cited Savannah Chrisley’s Republican National Convention speech, in which she suggested her parents were targeted for being conservative, as an example of pardon seekers’ relatives appearing in “MAGA-friendly spaces.”" ], "response": "Savannah Chrisley and her brother Chase publicly thanked Trump, ABC News reported. Savannah Chrisley called it a “misconception” that she had paid for a pardon for her parents, saying she “begged for meetings,” NBC News reported; Tolman did not respond to NBC’s request for comment.", "correction": "An earlier version put Todd Chrisley’s restitution at $17.8 million. The Justice Department list gives $17.3 million. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Pardon granted", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Who has President Trump pardoned and why?", "publisher": "NPR", "url": "https://www.npr.org/2025/11/10/nx-s1-5587875/trump-pardons-insider-political-orbit-second-term", "date": "2025-11-10", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "List of people granted executive clemency in the second Trump presidency", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executive_clemency_in_the_second_Trump_presidency", "date": "2026-09-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Todd and Julie Chrisley released from prison after Trump’s pardon", "publisher": "ABC News", "url": "https://abcnews.com/Politics/trump-officially-pardons-reality-tv-stars-todd-julie/story?id=122284770", "date": "2025-05-28", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump pardons drive a big, burgeoning business for lobbyists", "publisher": "NBC News", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-pardons-drive-big-burgeoning-business-lobbyists-rcna209801", "date": "2025-05-31", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/todd-julie-chrisley/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "george-santos", "name": "George Santos", "date": "2025-10-17", "kind": "Commutation", "offense": "Wire fraud and aggravated identity theft; sentenced to 87 months after admitting he deceived donors and used the identities of 11 people, including relatives, to make campaign donations.", "link": "No payment or donation is documented in the cited sources. The commutation followed public appeals from Santos himself and a letter from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene urging it, the Associated Press reported. Trump’s announcement, quoted by NPR, said Santos had the “Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!”", "record": [ "Santos was released the same evening after serving roughly three months. Trump called him “somewhat of a rogue” and, CBS New York reported, wrote that “George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated.”" ], "response": "In an X post the day after his release, Santos thanked Trump for “his kindness, his humanity and his generosity,” CBS New York reported.", "correction": "An earlier version misquoted Trump’s announcement as praising Santos for “always voting Republican.” The announcement said Santos had the “Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!” Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Sentence commuted", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "President Trump commutes the prison sentence of George Santos", "publisher": "NPR", "url": "https://www.npr.org/2025/10/17/nx-s1-5578304/trump-george-santos-prison-sentence-commuted", "date": "2025-10-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump commutes 7-year prison sentence of former Rep. George Santos in federal fraud case", "publisher": "PBS NewsHour (Associated Press)", "url": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-commutes-7-year-prison-sentence-of-former-rep-george-santos-in-federal-fraud-case", "date": "2025-10-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Trump commutes George Santos’ prison sentence, says he will be released immediately", "publisher": "CBS New York", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/trump-commutes-george-santos-sentence/", "date": "2025-10-18", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/george-santos/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "henry-cuellar", "name": "Henry and Imelda Cuellar", "date": "2025-12-02", "kind": "Pardon (pre-trial)", "offense": "Charged in an indictment unsealed in May 2024 with bribery and conspiracy, alleging about $600,000 from an oil company owned by Azerbaijan’s government and a Mexican bank.", "link": "No payment or donation is documented in the cited sources. Trump, pardoning a Democrat, said Cuellar had been targeted by a “weaponized” Justice Department for opposing open borders.", "record": [ "The pardon ended the prosecution before trial. Cuellar was running for re-election at the time." ], "response": "Cuellar thanked Trump and said the decision “clears the air.”", "correction": "An earlier version dated the pardon December 3, 2025 and said the indictment came in March 2024. The Justice Department list dates the pardon December 2, 2025, and the indictment was unsealed in May 2024. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Pardon granted before trial", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Trump pardons Cuellar in bribery and conspiracy case", "publisher": "PBS NewsHour (Associated Press)", "url": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-pardons-cuellar-in-bribery-and-conspiracy-case", "date": "2025-12-03", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Donald Trump pardons Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar", "publisher": "The Texas Tribune", "url": "https://www.texastribune.org/2025/12/03/henry-cuellar-donald-trump-pardon-bribery/", "date": "2025-12-03", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar indicted on charges of bribery, money laundering", "publisher": "The Texas Tribune", "url": "https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/03/henry-cuellar-texas-indicted-doj/", "date": "2024-05-03", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/henry-cuellar/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "steve-buyer", "name": "Stephen Buyer", "date": "2026-06-04", "kind": "Pardon", "offense": "Insider trading conviction (2023) tied to the T-Mobile/Sprint merger and a Navigant acquisition; sentenced to 22 months.", "link": "The proclamation cited the “advice and recommendation” of more than 50 current and former members of Congress. Former Republican members argued Buyer was targeted for serving as a House prosecutor in the 1998 Clinton impeachment. No payment is documented.", "record": [ "The June 4 proclamation gave a full, complete and unconditional pardon and called Buyer’s career as an Army judge advocate general and a member of Congress “distinguished and highly productive,” The Hill reported." ], "response": "Buyer maintained his innocence in a statement to The Associated Press, saying the pardon “corrects a politically motivated prosecution,” The Hill reported.", "correction": "An earlier version said the cited reports included no statement from Buyer. He told the Associated Press the pardon “corrects a politically motivated prosecution,” and the entry now includes it. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Pardon granted", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Trump pardons former GOP congressman convicted of insider trading", "publisher": "The Washington Post", "url": "https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/06/06/trump-pardons-former-gop-congressman-convicted-insider-trading/", "date": "2026-06-06", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Donald Trump pardons ex-Rep. Stephen Buyer in insider trading case", "publisher": "The Hill", "url": "https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5913284-donald-trump-steve-buyer-indiana-pardon-insider-trading/", "date": "2026-06-06", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Trump pardons former Republican congressman convicted of insider trading", "publisher": "PBS NewsHour (Associated Press)", "url": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-pardons-former-republican-congressman-convicted-of-insider-trading", "date": "2026-06-06", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/steve-buyer/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "ross-ulbricht", "name": "Ross Ulbricht", "date": "2025-01-21", "kind": "Pardon", "offense": "Silk Road dark-web marketplace; serving two life sentences plus 40 years.", "link": "A campaign pledge made to the 2024 Libertarian National Convention. No payment is documented; the pardon was sought by cryptocurrency and libertarian advocates.", "record": [ "Full and unconditional pardon on the second day of the term." ], "response": "Ulbricht thanked Trump in a video posted to X, calling him “a man of his word,” and his family thanked him in a statement on FreeRoss.org, Fox News reported.", "correction": "An earlier version said Ulbricht was serving life plus 40 years. He was serving two life sentences plus 40 years. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Pardon granted", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "List of people granted executive clemency in the second Trump presidency", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executive_clemency_in_the_second_Trump_presidency", "date": "2026-09-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Ross Ulbricht, founder of darknet drug market Silk Road, thanks Trump for pardon: ‘I’m a free man now’", "publisher": "Fox News", "url": "https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ross-ulbricht-founder-darknet-drug-market-silk-road-thanks-trump-pardon-im-free-man-now", "date": "2025-01-24", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/ross-ulbricht/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "rod-blagojevich", "name": "Rod Blagojevich", "date": "2025-02-10", "kind": "Pardon", "offense": "Wire fraud and attempted extortion as Illinois governor, including the attempted sale of a Senate seat.", "link": "Sentence already commuted by Trump in 2020. A former Celebrity Apprentice contestant; no payment is documented.", "record": [ "Full pardon five years after the commutation; criticized by Senator Dick Durbin and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza." ], "response": "Blagojevich has praised Trump and described his own prosecution as political.", "correction": "An earlier version described the conviction as wire fraud and extortion. It was wire fraud and attempted extortion. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Pardon granted", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "List of people granted executive clemency in the second Trump presidency", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executive_clemency_in_the_second_Trump_presidency", "date": "2026-09-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Praise, criticism after President Trump pardons former IL Gov. Blagojevich", "publisher": "ABC7 Chicago", "url": "https://abc7chicago.com/post/praise-criticism-president-donald-trump-pardons-former-illinois-governor-rod-blagojevich-commuting-prison-sentence/15893600/", "date": "2025-02-11", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/rod-blagojevich/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "bitmex-founders", "name": "BitMEX founders and HDR Global Trading", "date": "2025-03-27", "kind": "Pardon (individual and corporate)", "offense": "Bank Secrecy Act violations by Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, Samuel Reed and Gregory Dwyer; the parent company had a $100 million fine due the same week.", "link": "No lobbyist or donation is documented in the cited sources. The grants came the same day as the Milton pardon, according to the Justice Department list.", "record": [ "Four individual pardons and a corporate pardon for HDR Global Trading Limited." ], "response": "Hayes wrote “Thank you POTUS” in a post on X, CNBC reported; co-founder Ben Delo said in a statement that the Justice Department “wrongfully targeted BitMEX and its co-founders” and called the pardon “a vindication.” The report quotes no response from Reed or Dwyer.", "correction": "An earlier version said the grants came the same day as the Milton pardon and during the launch period of Trump-family crypto ventures. The same-day timing is from the Justice Department list; the earlier wording implied a connection the cited sources do not establish. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Pardons granted", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "List of people granted executive clemency in the second Trump presidency", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executive_clemency_in_the_second_Trump_presidency", "date": "2026-09-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Trump pardons three BitMEX crypto exchange co-founders, and ex-employee", "publisher": "NBC Los Angeles (CNBC)", "url": "https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/business/money-report/trump-pardons-three-co-founders-of-bitmex-crypto-exchange/3665207/", "date": "2025-03-28", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/bitmex-founders/", "named_people": [ { "id": "arthur-hayes", "name": "Arthur Hayes", "kind": "Pardon", "date": "2025-03-27", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/arthur-hayes/" }, { "id": "ben-delo", "name": "Ben Delo", "kind": "Pardon", "date": "2025-03-27", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/ben-delo/" }, { "id": "samuel-reed", "name": "Samuel Reed", "kind": "Pardon", "date": "2025-03-27", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/samuel-reed/" }, { "id": "gregory-dwyer", "name": "Gregory Dwyer", "kind": "Pardon", "date": "2025-03-27", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/gregory-dwyer/" }, { "id": "hdr-global-trading", "name": "HDR Global Trading Limited", "kind": "Pardon (corporate)", "date": "2025-03-27", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/hdr-global-trading/" } ], "fec": [] }, { "id": "devon-archer", "name": "Devon Archer", "date": "2025-03-25", "kind": "Pardon", "offense": "Securities fraud involving tribal bonds; $43.4 million restitution.", "link": "Former business partner of Hunter Biden who, CBS News reported, testified before Congress in a July 2023 interview with the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. No payment is documented.", "record": [ "Full pardon; restitution obligation remitted per the compiled record." ], "response": "Archer thanked Trump and said he was “the victim of a convoluted lawfare effort,” in a statement to the New York Post, Fox News reported.", "status": "Pardon granted", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "List of people granted executive clemency in the second Trump presidency", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executive_clemency_in_the_second_Trump_presidency", "date": "2026-09-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Trump pardons former Hunter Biden business associate Devon Archer", "publisher": "Fox News", "url": "https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-pardons-former-hunter-biden-business-associate-devon-archer", "date": "2025-03-25", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump issues pardon for Hunter Biden’s ex-business partner Devon Archer", "publisher": "CBS News", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/devon-archer-pardon-hunter-biden/", "date": "2025-03-25", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/devon-archer/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "michele-fiore", "name": "Michele Fiore", "date": "2025-04-23", "kind": "Pardon", "offense": "Wire fraud; convicted of diverting about $70,000 raised for a police memorial to personal use.", "link": "Nevada Republican official whom AP described as a “loyal Trump supporter.” Pardoned while awaiting sentencing. No payment is documented.", "record": [ "The pardon ended the case before sentencing." ], "response": "In a statement, Fiore called the prosecution “politically driven,” News 3 Las Vegas reported.", "status": "Pardon granted before sentencing", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "List of people granted executive clemency in the second Trump presidency", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executive_clemency_in_the_second_Trump_presidency", "date": "2026-09-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Michele Fiore receives pardon from Trump for fraud conviction", "publisher": "News 3 Las Vegas (KSNV)", "url": "https://news3lv.com/news/local/michele-fiore-receives-pardon-from-trump-for-fraud-conviction-las-vegas-justice-department-southern-nevada-federal-court-nye-county", "date": "2025-04-24", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "A Nevada politician was convicted of using funds meant to honor a slain officer on plastic surgery. Trump just pardoned her", "publisher": "CBS News (Associated Press)", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pardons-michele-fiore-las-vegas-nevada-politician-fraud/", "date": "2025-04-24", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/michele-fiore/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "scott-jenkins", "name": "Scott Jenkins", "date": "2025-05-27", "kind": "Pardon", "offense": "Bribery and honest-services fraud; the Culpeper County, Virginia sheriff accepted $75,000 in bribes in exchange for auxiliary deputy badges.", "link": "Pardon office director Ed Martin marked the grant with a “No MAGA Left Behind” post. No payment to Trump or allies is documented.", "record": [ "Trump announced the pardon on May 26, 2025, the day before Jenkins was due to report to begin a ten-year prison sentence, CNN reported. The Justice Department’s clemency list dates the grant May 27, 2025." ], "response": "Jenkins told DC News Now he “thanks God and President Trump” and Ed Martin for the pardon. His lawyers’ sentencing memo had said he “adamantly maintains his innocence,” NBC News reported.", "correction": "An earlier version said Jenkins was pardoned days before he was due to report to prison. Trump announced the pardon the day before his report date, and the Justice Department list dates the grant May 27, 2025. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Pardon granted", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "List of people granted executive clemency in the second Trump presidency", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executive_clemency_in_the_second_Trump_presidency", "date": "2026-09-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Trump announces pardon for former Virginia sheriff convicted of federal bribery charges", "publisher": "CNN", "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/26/politics/trump-pardons-scott-jenkins-virginia-sheriff", "date": "2025-05-26", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump pardons former Culpeper County sheriff convicted on multiple bribery charges", "publisher": "DC News Now", "url": "https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/virginia/culpeper-county/trump-pardons-former-culpeper-county-sheriff-convicted-on-multiple-bribery-charges/", "date": "2025-05-26", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump’s pardons highlight Justice Department’s pullback from public corruption cases", "publisher": "NBC News", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/trumps-pardons-highlight-justice-departments-pullback-public-corruptio-rcna209202", "date": "2025-05-28", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/scott-jenkins/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "joseph-schwartz", "name": "Joseph Schwartz", "date": "2025-11-14", "kind": "Pardon", "offense": "Nursing-home chain tax fraud.", "link": "The compiled clemency record reports that lobbyists Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl accepted $960,000 to lobby for a pardon for Schwartz, and that Schwartz, unhappy with their efforts, then hired lobbyist Josh Nass, who was later charged with extortion; prosecutors allege Nass sought $500,000 he said Schwartz owed him for pardon work. 60 Minutes reported that a nursing-home owner convicted of tax fraud paid pardon brokers nearly $1 million.", "record": [ "The Justice Department list shows a sentence of 36 months’ imprisonment, a $100,000 fine and $5,000,000 restitution. ProPublica reported that Schwartz paid the $5 million restitution the judge ordered, and that the pardon wiped away his federal prison sentence. The extortion charge against Nass is an allegation; Schwartz is not accused in that case, and the compiled record describes Schwartz and his son as the targets of the alleged scheme." ], "response": "Schwartz’s attorney, Kevin Marino, said the pardon was “well deserved in the circumstances of this case,” Patch reported in November 2025; in March 2026 Marino told ProPublica he and Schwartz had no comment.", "correction": "An earlier version listed this among grants that removed restitution or fines, and said a paid broker was later charged with extortion over the pardon. The Justice Department list gives a 36-month sentence, a $100,000 fine and $5,000,000 in restitution, and ProPublica reported that Schwartz had paid the $5 million. The extortion charge is against Nass; the compiled record describes Schwartz and his son as its alleged targets. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Pardon granted; broker charged", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "List of people granted executive clemency in the second Trump presidency", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executive_clemency_in_the_second_Trump_presidency", "date": "2026-09-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Paid brokers tout ties to Trump’s orbit to lobby for presidential pardons", "publisher": "CBS News / 60 Minutes", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pardon-economy-60-minutes-transcript/", "date": "2026-09-13", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "A Nursing Home Owner Got a Trump Pardon. The Families of His Patients Got Nothing.", "publisher": "ProPublica", "url": "https://www.propublica.org/article/joseph-schwartz-trump-pardon-skyline-nursing-home-patients", "date": "2026-03-30", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump Pardons NJ Nursing Home Owner Responsible For ‘Makeshift Morgue’ During COVID", "publisher": "Patch", "url": "https://patch.com/new-jersey/hopatcong-sparta/trump-pardons-nj-nursing-home-owner-responsible-makeshift-morgue-during", "date": "2025-11-24", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "A pardon lobbyist, $500,000 demand and alleged ‘enforcer’ lead to extortion charge in New York", "publisher": "NBC New York (Associated Press)", "url": "https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/lobbyist-pardon-extortion-charge-new-york/6476644/", "date": "2026-03-15", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/joseph-schwartz/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "burkman-wohl-brokers", "name": "Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl (pardon brokers)", "date": "2026-09-13", "kind": "Broker case", "offense": "Not a clemency grant. Two political operatives with prior convictions for a 2020 voter-suppression robocall scheme marketed pardon access.", "link": "Rapper Boosie Badazz told 60 Minutes he paid the brokers $600,000 up front to pursue a pardon that never came; CBS News reports he has filed an arbitration claim to recover half of it, $300,000, which he says the agreement promised back if no pardon came. The brokers asked $300,000 from wildlife-trafficking felon Ammon Covino. 60 Minutes reported some brokers charge up to $3 million.", "record": [ "Reuters identified 290 “influencers” who advocated 624 times in 197 successful second-term clemency bids, with intermediaries charging as much as $2 million per engagement." ], "response": "Wohl told 60 Minutes there is nothing corrupt or improper about their work; 60 Minutes reports the pair refuse to refund Boosie, calling his contract invalid, and deny sending one of the texts it showed. Ed Martin, who ran the Justice Department’s pardon office until nine days before the broadcast, told 60 Minutes he had never seen a broker quid pro quo, saw no evidence of “magical brokers” and called such brokers snake-oil salesmen.", "correction": "An earlier version said a civil suit over Boosie Badazz’s fee was pending and that pardon office director Ed Martin told 60 Minutes the official route is free. The refund claim is in arbitration. Martin had left the pardon office nine days before the broadcast and did not say that on the program; the entry now gives what he told 60 Minutes. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Boosie not pardoned; refund claim pending in arbitration", "people": [], "sources": [ { "title": "Paid brokers tout ties to Trump’s orbit to lobby for presidential pardons", "publisher": "CBS News / 60 Minutes", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pardon-economy-60-minutes-transcript/", "date": "2026-09-13", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Democrats press Trump administration over ‘pay-to-play’ pardons", "publisher": "The Spokesman-Review (Reuters)", "url": "https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/jun/15/democrats-press-trump-administration-over-pay-to-p/", "date": "2026-06-15", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Pardons Inc.: Democratic staff report on second-term clemency", "publisher": "House Judiciary Committee Democrats", "url": "https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2026-08-hjc-dems-staff-report-pardons-inc.pdf", "date": "2026-08-01", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Pardon brokers offer to “put pressure on the president,” at sky-high costs", "publisher": "CBS News", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pardon-lobbyists-60-minutes/", "date": "2026-09-13", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Boosie seeks $300,000 refund after pardon effort falls through", "publisher": "Fox 8 WVUE (Gray Louisiana)", "url": "https://www.fox8live.com/2026/07/13/boosie-seeks-300000-refund-after-pardon-effort-falls-through/", "date": "2026-07-13", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Boosie takes $600K pardon fight to 60 Minutes after failed Trump clemency push", "publisher": "KSLA News 12 (Gray Louisiana)", "url": "https://www.ksla.com/2026/09/14/boosie-takes-600k-pardon-fight-60-minutes-after-failed-trump-clemency-push/", "date": "2026-09-14", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/burkman-wohl-brokers/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "january-6-mass-clemency", "name": "January 6 defendants (about 1,500 people)", "date": "2025-01-20", "kind": "Mass pardon and 14 commutations", "offense": "Offenses related to the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, from misdemeanor trespass to seditious conspiracy.", "link": "Political allies and supporters. Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio (22-year sentence) received a full pardon, and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes (18 years) had his sentence commuted. No payment is documented.", "record": [ "Issued on inauguration day, covering nearly everyone charged. Senate Judiciary Democrats later wrote to the attorney general about the grants." ], "response": "The proclamation granting the clemency said it “ends a grave national injustice” and “begins a process of national reconciliation.”", "correction": "An earlier version said Enrique Tarrio’s sentence was commuted. He received a full pardon; Stewart Rhodes’s sentence was commuted. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Pardons and commutations granted", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Pardon of January 6 United States Capitol attack defendants", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardon_of_January_6_United_States_Capitol_attack_defendants", "date": "2026-09-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Letter to Attorney General Bondi regarding January 6 pardons", "publisher": "U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee", "url": "https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/download/letter-to-bondi-re-trump-jan-6-pardons_-final-41?download=1", "date": "2025-04-01", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Granting Pardons and Commutation of Sentences for Certain Offenses Relating to the Events at or Near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021", "publisher": "The White House", "url": "https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/granting-pardons-and-commutation-of-sentences-for-certain-offenses-relating-to-the-events-at-or-near-the-united-states-capitol-on-january-6-2021/", "date": "2025-01-20", "kind": "Primary record" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/january-6-mass-clemency/", "named_people": [ { "id": "enrique-tarrio", "name": "Enrique Tarrio", "kind": "Pardon", "date": "2025-01-20", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/enrique-tarrio/" }, { "id": "stewart-rhodes", "name": "Stewart Rhodes", "kind": "Commutation", "date": "2025-01-20", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/stewart-rhodes/" } ], "fec": [] }, { "id": "fake-electors-proclamation", "name": "2020 election allies (77 named people)", "date": "2025-11-07", "kind": "Pardon (proclamation)", "offense": "Federal exposure related to the 2020 alternate-elector effort; recipients included Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis.", "link": "Trump’s own lawyers, aides and allies. No payment is documented.", "record": [ "A federal pardon does not affect state prosecutions; several recipients faced state cases in Georgia, Arizona and elsewhere." ], "response": "Giuliani’s spokesperson Ted Goodman said Giuliani “never sought a pardon but is deeply grateful for President Trump’s decision” and that the action highlights “the years of unjust attacks” against him and others, according to The Guardian. The proclamation posted by the Justice Department says it “ends a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 Presidential Election.” The White House did not immediately respond to The Guardian’s request for comment. The cited reports include no response from the other recipients.", "correction": "An earlier version dated the proclamation November 10, 2025. Its date is November 7, 2025. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Federal pardons granted; state cases unaffected", "people": [ "donald-trump", "rudy-giuliani", "mark-meadows", "john-eastman", "kenneth-chesebro", "sidney-powell", "jenna-ellis" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Trump pardons Giuliani, Meadows and others over plot to steal 2020 election", "publisher": "The Guardian", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/10/trump-pardons-giuliani-meadows-2020-election", "date": "2025-11-10", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "List of people granted executive clemency in the second Trump presidency", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executive_clemency_in_the_second_Trump_presidency", "date": "2026-09-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Granting Pardons for Certain Offenses Related to the 2020 Presidential Election", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/media/1420861/dl?inline", "date": "2025-11-07", "kind": "Primary record" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/fake-electors-proclamation/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "michael-grimm", "name": "Michael Grimm", "date": "2025-05-28", "kind": "Pardon", "offense": "Tax fraud; the former Republican congressman admitted concealing about $1 million in restaurant income.", "link": "Former GOP member of Congress and Newsmax commentator. No payment is documented.", "record": [ "Full pardon." ], "response": "In a statement reported by the Brooklyn Eagle, Grimm said he was “grateful beyond words to President Trump for restoring my good name” and that “the Obama Justice Department was weaponized against me.” He told Newsmax he was “over the moon ecstatic.”", "status": "Pardon granted", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "List of people granted executive clemency in the second Trump presidency", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executive_clemency_in_the_second_Trump_presidency", "date": "2026-09-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Trump pardons former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm", "publisher": "Brooklyn Eagle", "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20250724041055/https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2025/05/29/%E2%9C%B0premiumtrump-pardons-former-u-s-rep-michael-grimm/", "date": "2025-05-29", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Michael Grimm to Newsmax: ‘Over the Moon Ecstatic’ After Trump Pardon", "publisher": "Newsmax", "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260116050801/https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/michael-grimm-pardons-newsmax/2025/05/28/id/1212721/", "date": "2025-05-28", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/michael-grimm/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "brian-kelsey", "name": "Brian Kelsey", "date": "2025-03-11", "kind": "Pardon", "offense": "Campaign-finance violations; the former Tennessee Republican state senator funneled state campaign money into a 2016 congressional bid.", "link": "Republican former legislator. No payment is documented.", "record": [ "Pardoned two weeks into a 21-month prison sentence, AP reported. He had been ordered to report to a federal prison camp in Kentucky on February 24, 2025." ], "response": "Kelsey initially called the prosecution a witch hunt and blamed the Biden administration. After the pardon he said Trump had saved him from the “weaponized Biden DOJ,” AP reported.", "status": "Pardon granted", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "List of people granted executive clemency in the second Trump presidency", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executive_clemency_in_the_second_Trump_presidency", "date": "2026-09-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Trump pardons former Tennessee lawmaker imprisoned in campaign fraud scheme", "publisher": "CBS News (Associated Press)", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pardons-brian-kelsey-former-tennessee-state-senator-campaign-fraud/", "date": "2025-03-12", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/brian-kelsey/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "james-callahan", "name": "James Callahan", "date": "2025-05-27", "kind": "Pardon", "offense": "False labor-union reports; the union president accepted about $315,000 in unreported gifts from an advertising vendor.", "link": "No political tie or payment is documented in the cited sources.", "record": [ "Pardoned before sentencing." ], "response": "The cited reports do not include a statement from Callahan.", "correction": "An earlier version dated the pardon May 28, 2025. The Justice Department list dates it May 27, 2025. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Pardon granted before sentencing", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "List of people granted executive clemency in the second Trump presidency", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executive_clemency_in_the_second_Trump_presidency", "date": "2026-09-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/james-callahan/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "reuters-clemency-review", "name": "The pattern: Reuters review and House Democratic report", "date": "2026-06-15", "kind": "Review", "offense": "Not a grant. A summary entry for the reviews that measure the whole second-term clemency record.", "link": "Reuters found 96 percent of second-term clemency grants went to people who did not meet longstanding Justice Department guidelines, identified 290 advocates who intervened 624 times in 197 successful bids, and reported intermediary fees of up to $2 million. NBC News reported in May 2025 that two people knew of a client’s offer of $5 million to lobbying firms to help get a case to Trump.", "record": [ "House Judiciary Democrats estimated in June 2025 that the pardons could deprive victims and taxpayers of about $1.3 billion in restitution and fines, including amounts prosecutors had sought but courts had not yet ordered, and published a fuller staff report in August 2026. California’s governor later cited nearly $2 billion in lost victim repayment and taxpayer recovery.", "Reuters reported in June 2026 that more than 1,700 people had received clemency since January 2025." ], "response": "The White House told Reuters that the constitutional authority to issue pardons rests solely with the president, that it has a rigorous pardon review process, and that “anyone spending money to lobby for pardons is foolishly wasting their money.” The Justice Department said there has been no departure from its long-standing process, and both have denied any impropriety (Reuters). Press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said Trump was most interested in pardoning people “overprosecuted by a weaponized DOJ” (NBC News).", "correction": "An earlier version credited Reuters with reporting offers as high as $5 million. That figure comes from NBC News, and the entry now says so. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Reviews published; Democratic lawmakers’ inquiry open", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Democrats press Trump administration over ‘pay-to-play’ pardons", "publisher": "The Spokesman-Review (Reuters)", "url": "https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/jun/15/democrats-press-trump-administration-over-pay-to-p/", "date": "2026-06-15", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Forget the DOJ. For a Trump pardon, call ‘Bobby’ and other influencers", "publisher": "HuffPost (Reuters)", "url": "https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-pardons-friends-benefits_n_6a2aa547e4b01046d716f65d", "date": "2026-06-11", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Pardons Inc.: Democratic staff report on second-term clemency", "publisher": "House Judiciary Committee Democrats", "url": "https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2026-08-hjc-dems-staff-report-pardons-inc.pdf", "date": "2026-08-01", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Democratic staff memo on the $1.3 billion cost of Trump pardons", "publisher": "House Judiciary Committee Democrats", "url": "https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2025-06-17.dem-memo-re-$1.3b-cost-of-trump-pardons.pdf", "date": "2025-06-17", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Trump pardons wipe nearly $2 billion in victim repayment and taxpayer recovery", "publisher": "Office of the Governor of California", "url": "https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/03/05/trumpcriminals3/", "date": "2026-03-05", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Who has President Trump pardoned and why?", "publisher": "NPR", "url": "https://www.npr.org/2025/11/10/nx-s1-5587875/trump-pardons-insider-political-orbit-second-term", "date": "2025-11-10", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Everyone pardoned by Trump with political or financial ties to the White House", "publisher": "Forbes", "url": "https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2026/05/07/democrats-investigate-whether-trumps-pardons-were-pay-to-play-here-are-the-big-time-donors-and-business-allies-hes-sprung-free/", "date": "2026-05-07", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump pardons drive a big, burgeoning business for lobbyists", "publisher": "NBC News", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-pardons-drive-big-burgeoning-business-lobbyists-rcna209801", "date": "2025-05-31", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump’s pardons forgive financial crimes that came with hundreds of millions in punishments", "publisher": "NBC News", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trumps-pardons-forgive-financial-crimes-came-hundreds-millions-punishm-rcna248277", "date": "2026-01-20", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/reuters-clemency-review/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "juan-orlando-hernandez", "name": "Juan Orlando Hernández", "date": "2025-12-01", "kind": "Pardon", "offense": "Former president of Honduras; convicted in 2024 of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States and related firearms offenses; sentenced to 45 years.", "link": "Political. Trump announced the pardon while endorsing Nasry Asfura, the presidential candidate of Hernández’s National Party, days before Honduras voted. No payment is documented in the cited sources.", "record": [ "Granted December 1, 2025; Hernández was released the same day. Trump called the case a “Biden horrible witch hunt.” Senators of both parties, including Republican Bill Cassidy (quoted by CNN) and Democrat Dick Durbin (in a Senate floor speech), questioned the pardon against the administration’s stated drug-enforcement goals; the Congressional Research Service noted that some members of Congress argue it calls those goals into question." ], "response": "Hernández thanked Trump and maintained his innocence.", "correction": "An earlier version attributed the questioning of the pardon to the Congressional Research Service as well as senators of both parties. The cited criticism is from senators: Republican Bill Cassidy, quoted by CNN, and Democrat Dick Durbin, in a Senate floor speech. A source date was corrected from December 15 to December 8, 2025. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Pardon granted", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Ex-Honduran leader thanks Trump for pardon on US drug trafficking charges", "publisher": "CNN", "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/03/americas/donald-trump-pardon-honduras-president-intl-hnk", "date": "2025-12-03", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump plans to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández", "publisher": "NPR", "url": "https://www.npr.org/2025/11/28/nx-s1-5624478/trump-plans-to-pardon-juan-orlando-hernandez", "date": "2025-11-28", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Presidential pardon of former Honduran president convicted of drug trafficking", "publisher": "Congressional Research Service", "url": "https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IN12621", "date": "2025-12-08", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Durbin condemns pardon of former president of Honduras", "publisher": "U.S. Senate, Office of Sen. Dick Durbin", "url": "https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-condemns-pardon-of-former-president-of-honduras", "date": "2025-12-02", "kind": "Primary record" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/juan-orlando-hernandez/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "herrera-velutini-vazquez", "name": "Julio Herrera Velutini and Wanda Vázquez Garced", "date": "2026-01-15", "kind": "Pardon (after plea deal)", "offense": "Herrera Velutini, a Venezuelan banker, was charged with bribing then-Governor Vázquez of Puerto Rico with $300,000 in campaign contributions to remove a regulator investigating his bank; Vázquez was charged with accepting them. As the case neared trial in 2025, the Justice Department agreed to dismiss the most serious charges, and in August 2025 both, with co-defendant Mark Rossini, pleaded guilty to lesser misdemeanor campaign-finance charges, a deal the presiding judge likened to “a slap on the wrist.”", "link": "Campaign Legal Center reports that Herrera Velutini’s 25-year-old daughter, whose only prior donation was $20, gave $3.5 million to the MAGA Inc. super PAC before the pardon. He was represented by former Trump lawyer Christopher Kise, who hired the Trump-tied firm Ballard Partners on behalf of the bank.", "record": [ "The pardons came months after the August 2025 guilty pleas; CBS News reported that Rossini was pardoned as well. The Justice Department’s clemency list dates the pardons January 15, 2026, and lists amended pardons for all three on January 20, 2026, for contribution by a foreign national. Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint arguing the daughter was not the true source of the money; that is an allegation, not a finding.", "FEC filings show MAGA Inc. received $2.5 million on December 31, 2024 and $1 million on July 22, 2025 from a donor filed as Isabela Herrera, listed as a financial consultant in Florida and New York, matching the $3.5 million Campaign Legal Center attributes to the daughter." ], "response": "Vázquez told reporters after her 2022 arrest that she was innocent, NPR reported; a White House official told CBS News her pardon materials say there was never a quid pro quo and her prosecution was politically motivated. A White House official told CBS News the donations had nothing to do with the pardon. Herrera Velutini’s lawyer, Chris Kise, told CBS News his client is grateful for the pardon; the cited reports do not include a statement from Herrera Velutini on the donation.", "status": "Pardons granted after misdemeanor pleas; FEC complaint filed", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "correction": "An earlier version said both pardons came before trial and gave only a month for the grants. Both had pleaded guilty in August 2025 to lesser misdemeanor campaign-finance charges, and the Justice Department list dates the pardons January 15, 2026. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "sources": [ { "title": "Seeking pardon, foreign billionaire allegedly funneled millions to Trump super PAC", "publisher": "Campaign Legal Center", "url": "https://campaignlegal.org/update/seeking-pardon-foreign-billionaire-allegedly-funneled-millions-trump-super-pac", "date": "2026-02-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump pardons Venezuelan banker, ex-Puerto Rico governor", "publisher": "Bloomberg Law", "url": "https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/trump-to-pardon-venezuelan-banker-ex-puerto-rico-governor-82", "date": "2026-01-15", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump pardons Puerto Rico’s former governor Wanda Vázquez", "publisher": "CBS News", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pardoning-puerto-rico-former-governor-wanda-vazquez-officials-say/", "date": "2026-01-15", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Inside the pardon playbook: an analysis of President Trump’s clemency abuses", "publisher": "Campaign Legal Center", "url": "https://campaignlegal.org/update/inside-pardon-playbook-analysis-president-trumps-clemency-abuses", "date": "2026-03-01", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Former Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez is charged with bribery", "publisher": "NPR (Associated Press)", "url": "https://www.npr.org/2022/08/04/1115685539/former-puerto-rico-governor-wanda-vazquez-bribery-charge", "date": "2022-08-04", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/herrera-velutini-vazquez/", "named_people": [ { "id": "julio-herrera-velutini", "name": "Julio Herrera Velutini", "kind": "Pardon (after plea deal)", "date": "2026-01-15", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/julio-herrera-velutini/" }, { "id": "wanda-vazquez-garced", "name": "Wanda Vázquez Garced", "kind": "Pardon (after plea deal)", "date": "2026-01-15", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/wanda-vazquez-garced/" }, { "id": "mark-rossini", "name": "Mark Rossini", "kind": "Pardon (after plea deal)", "date": "2026-01-15", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/mark-rossini/" } ], "fec": [ { "date": "2025-07-22", "amount": 1000000, "committee": "MAGA INC.", "committee_id": "C00892471", "contributor_as_filed": "HERRERA, ISABELA", "city": "NEW YORK", "state": "NY", "occupation": "FINANCE CONSULTANT", "filing_pdf": "https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202601029793901866", "transaction_id": "SA17.4763", "memo": false, "memo_text": "", "line": "17" }, { "date": "2024-12-31", "amount": 2500000, "committee": "MAGA INC.", "committee_id": "C00892471", "contributor_as_filed": "HERRERA, ISABELA", "city": "PINECREST", "state": "FL", "occupation": "FINANCIAL CONSULTANT", "filing_pdf": "https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202501319752674491", "transaction_id": "SA17.4144", "memo": false, "memo_text": "", "line": "17" } ] }, { "id": "carlos-watson", "name": "Carlos Watson (Ozy Media)", "date": "2025-03-28", "kind": "Commutation", "offense": "Securities-fraud conspiracy, wire-fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft; sentenced to 116 months with about $96 million in restitution and forfeiture.", "link": "Variety reported that the case was handled by the office of Trump’s newly appointed pardon czar, Alice Marie Johnson. No payment or donation is documented in the cited sources.", "record": [ "Granted hours before Watson was due to surrender to prison. The commutation also relieved the $96 million restitution and forfeiture, per CNBC." ], "response": "In a statement reported by Variety, Watson thanked Trump for “correcting this grave injustice” and said his prosecution was driven by “a jealous competitor at a rival media company.”", "correction": "An earlier version listed securities fraud among Watson’s convictions. The conviction was for securities-fraud conspiracy. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Sentence commuted; restitution relieved", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Trump commutes sentence of Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson just before prison surrender", "publisher": "CNBC", "url": "https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/28/trump-commutes-sentences-of-ozy-media-founder-carlos-watson-and-company.html", "date": "2025-03-28", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump commutes sentence of Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson", "publisher": "NBC News", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/trump-commutes-sentence-ozy-media-founder-carlos-watson-rcna198667", "date": "2025-03-28", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Carlos Watson says Trump has commuted his prison sentence for Ozy Media fraud", "publisher": "Variety", "url": "https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/carlos-watson-trump-commute-prison-sentence-ozy-media-fraud-1236351619/", "date": "2025-03-28", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/carlos-watson/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "jason-galanis", "name": "Jason Galanis", "date": "2025-03-28", "kind": "Commutation", "offense": "Securities and investment-adviser fraud in multiple schemes, including manipulating the market for NYSE-listed Gerova Financial Group and the tribal-bond fraud that also involved Devon Archer; sentenced in September 2020 to 189 months.", "link": "Former Hunter Biden business associate who testified in the 2024 House impeachment inquiry into the Biden family; a Trump administration official told Fox News Digital he was the “fall guy” for Hunter Biden and Devon Archer. No payment is documented.", "record": [ "Commuted to time served." ], "response": "Galanis thanked Trump for commuting his sentence and praised him for understanding “the law better than any lawyer,” the Washington Examiner reported.", "correction": "An earlier version said Galanis was sentenced to 189 months in 2017. That sentence was imposed in September 2020. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Sentence commuted", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Trump grants clemency to another Hunter Biden associate who testified against the Biden family", "publisher": "UPI", "url": "https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/04/01/Jason-Galanis-clemency/5671743486285/", "date": "2025-04-01", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Jason Galanis Sentenced In Manhattan Federal Court For Multiple Securities Fraud Schemes", "publisher": "U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/jason-galanis-sentenced-manhattan-federal-court-multiple-securities-fraud-schemes", "date": "2020-09-24", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Trump commutes prison sentence of Hunter Biden’s ‘fall guy’ Jason Galanis", "publisher": "Fox News", "url": "https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-commutes-prison-sentence-hunter-bidens-fall-guy-jason-galanis", "date": "2025-04-01", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Hunter Biden’s former business partner thanks Trump for commuting sentence", "publisher": "Washington Examiner", "url": "https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/crime/3367538/hunter-biden-business-partner-trump-commuting-sentence/", "date": "2025-04-02", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/jason-galanis/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "larry-hoover", "name": "Larry Hoover", "date": "2025-05-28", "kind": "Commutation", "offense": "Co-founder of Chicago’s Gangster Disciples; six federal life sentences from a 1997 conviction for running the gang from prison.", "link": "A long-running celebrity and criminal-justice-reform campaign. No payment is documented in the cited sources.", "record": [ "The federal sentences were commuted to time served, but Hoover was then transferred from federal to Illinois custody, the Chicago Sun-Times reported in May 2026. He is serving a 200-year state sentence for a 1973 murder, which a president cannot commute." ], "response": "Hoover’s lawyers welcomed the commutation and said they would seek state relief.", "correction": "An earlier version said Hoover remains in Illinois custody. He was transferred from federal to Illinois custody. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Federal sentence commuted; state sentence continues", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Former Chicago Gangster Disciple leader Larry Hoover gets commutation from Donald Trump", "publisher": "WTTW", "url": "https://news.wttw.com/2025/05/28/former-chicago-gang-leader-gets-commutation-donald-trump", "date": "2025-05-28", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Chicago drug kingpin Larry Hoover’s federal prison sentence commuted by Donald Trump", "publisher": "Chicago Sun-Times", "url": "https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdogs/2025/05/28/president-trump-drug-kingpin-larry-hoover-commutation-federal-prison-sentence", "date": "2025-05-28", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover’s bid for freedom is now in Gov. JB Pritzker’s hands", "publisher": "Chicago Sun-Times", "url": "https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdogs/2026/05/14/larry-hoover-pritzker-gangster-disciples-clemency-father-pfleger-trump", "date": "2026-05-14", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Months after Trump’s pardon, Larry Hoover pushes for Pritzker clemency: EXCLUSIVE", "publisher": "ABC News", "url": "https://abcnews.com/Politics/months-after-trumps-pardon-larry-hoover-pushes-pritzker/story?id=126738033", "date": "2025-10-22", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/larry-hoover/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] }, { "id": "nfl-players-february-2026", "name": "Five former NFL players", "date": "2026-02-12", "kind": "Pardon", "offense": "Joe Klecko (perjury), Nate Newton (drug trafficking), Jamal Lewis (using a phone to arrange a drug deal), Travis Henry (cocaine conspiracy) and, posthumously, Billy Cannon (1983 counterfeiting).", "link": "Announced by pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson, who said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones personally delivered the news to Newton. Newsweek reported in 2020 that Jones had been a vocal supporter of Trump over players kneeling during the national anthem in 2017. No payment is documented.", "record": [ "The Justice Department list gives sentencing dates from 1993 (Klecko) to 2009 (Henry); The Hill dates Cannon’s counterfeiting to 1983. The Justice Department list dates the grants February 12, 2026, four days after Super Bowl LX, which ESPN reports was played February 8." ], "response": "Newton thanked Trump in a February 13 post on X, WFAA reported; the cited reports include no statement from Klecko or the other pardoned players. NPR reported that pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson thanked Trump for his “continued commitment to second chances” and that the White House did not return a request for comment on why Trump pardoned the players.", "correction": "An earlier version called all five convictions decades old. The Justice Department list gives sentencing dates from 1993 to 2009, and The Hill dates Billy Cannon’s counterfeiting case to 1983. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Pardons granted", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Trump pardons 5 former NFL players for crimes ranging from perjury to drug trafficking", "publisher": "NPR", "url": "https://www.npr.org/2026/02/13/nx-s1-5713307/trump-nfl-pardons", "date": "2026-02-13", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "President Trump pardons 5 ex-NFL players", "publisher": "The Hill", "url": "https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5737046-trump-pardons-nfl-players/", "date": "2026-02-13", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Why did President Trump grant a pardon to Nate Newton? The former Cowboys offensive lineman is still trying to figure that out", "publisher": "WFAA", "url": "https://www.wfaa.com/article/sports/nfl/cowboys/nate-newton-presidential-pardon-trump-why/287-58e01a79-33b1-4651-8475-77e898ca05ca", "date": "2026-02-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Which NFL Owners Support Donald Trump? List of Those Who Have Donated to the President", "publisher": "Newsweek", "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/nfl-owners-support-donald-trump-list-donated-president-1510841", "date": "2020-06-15", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Super Bowl 2026 highlights: Seahawks capture second Lombardi with 29-13 win over Patriots", "publisher": "ESPN", "url": "https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47822193/2026-super-bowl-lx-patriots-seahawks-live-highlights-results", "date": "2026-02-08", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/nfl-players-february-2026/", "named_people": [ { "id": "joe-klecko", "name": "Joe Klecko", "kind": "Pardon", "date": "2026-02-12", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/joe-klecko/" }, { "id": "nate-newton", "name": "Nate Newton", "kind": "Pardon", "date": "2026-02-12", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/nate-newton/" }, { "id": "jamal-lewis", "name": "Jamal Lewis", "kind": "Pardon", "date": "2026-02-12", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/jamal-lewis/" }, { "id": "travis-henry", "name": "Travis Henry", "kind": "Pardon", "date": "2026-02-12", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/travis-henry/" }, { "id": "billy-cannon", "name": "Billy Cannon", "kind": "Pardon", "date": "2026-02-12", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/billy-cannon/" } ], "fec": [] }, { "id": "september-2026-batch", "name": "September 2026 batch of 30", "date": "2026-09-03", "kind": "Pardons and commutations", "offense": "The Justice Department’s clemency list shows 23 pardons and 6 commutations dated September 3, 2026. Identified from reporting: John Dougherty (commutation; bribery and union embezzlement), Patrick “Tate” Adamiak (pardon; unregistered machine guns and destructive devices), Jeremy Kettler and Shane Cox (pardons; their 2016 federal firearms convictions in Kansas, after they relied on the state’s 2013 Second Amendment Protection Act, as the Kansas Reflector reported), and George Peterson (pardon; a firearms case).", "link": "The pardon czar announced thirty grants and named Emory Jones, a Roc Nation executive and longtime Jay-Z associate. The Justice Department lists Jones’s pardon separately, dated September 8, 2026, five days after the other 29; together they account for the thirty announced. Former Pardon Attorney Liz Oyer wrote on September 8 that she could identify only 11 of the 30 at the time. The Adamiak pardon was celebrated by the NRA.", "record": [ "The Ledger ran all thirty names against FEC contribution records for the 2024 and 2026 cycles. Twenty-seven have no filing of $2,500 or more; the three name-only matches could not be tied to the recipients and are not treated as links. The Ledger does not publish details of donors who merely share a recipient’s name.", "The Justice Department list shows Jones was pardoned for conspiracy to distribute cocaine hydrochloride and cocaine base in the District of Maryland; it gives his sentencing date as October 15, 2000, and his sentence as 151 months’ imprisonment (as amended). The DOJ list is the primary record of all thirty grants." ], "response": "White House pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson, announcing the grants in a September 4 post on X, wrote that September 3 was “a powerful day for second chances” and called the 30 “deserving individuals” whose cases her team had reviewed; she said Jones came home determined to build a different life.", "status": "Granted; all 30 listed by DOJ, no documented payments", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "correction": "An earlier version said Emory Jones did not appear on the Justice Department list and described his case as a 2000 conspiracy. The list shows his pardon dated September 8, 2026, and gives October 15, 2000 as his sentencing date. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "sources": [ { "title": "Trump grants clemency to 30 people, White House pardon czar says", "publisher": "U.S. News & World Report (Reuters)", "url": "https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2026-09-04/trump-grants-clemency-to-30-people-white-house-pardon-czar-says", "date": "2026-09-04", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump’s Secret Pardons", "publisher": "Lawyer Oyer (Liz Oyer, former U.S. Pardon Attorney)", "url": "https://www.lawyeroyer.com/p/trumps-secret-pardons", "date": "2026-09-08", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Patrick Adamiak", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Adamiak", "date": "2026-09-17", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump pardons Tate Adamiak and George Peterson", "publisher": "AmmoLand", "url": "https://www.ammoland.com/2026/09/trump-pardons-tate-adamiak-george-peterson/", "date": "2026-09-05", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "Yesterday was a powerful day for second chances.", "publisher": "X (Alice Marie Johnson, White House pardon czar)", "url": "https://x.com/AliceMarieFree/status/2095970598316900499", "date": "2026-09-04", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Sen. Tyson petitions President Trump for pardon of two Kansans caught in gun silencer case", "publisher": "Kansas Reflector", "url": "https://kansasreflector.com/2020/12/18/sen-tyson-petitions-president-trump-for-pardon-of-two-kansans-caught-in-silencer-case/", "date": "2020-12-18", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/september-2026-batch/", "named_people": [ { "id": "patrick-tate-adamiak", "name": "Patrick “Tate” Adamiak", "kind": "Pardon", "date": "2026-09-03", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/patrick-tate-adamiak/" }, { "id": "george-peterson", "name": "George Peterson", "kind": "Pardon", "date": "2026-09-03", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/george-peterson/" }, { "id": "shane-cox", "name": "Shane Cox", "kind": "Pardon", "date": "2026-09-03", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/shane-cox/" }, { "id": "jeremy-kettler", "name": "Jeremy Kettler", "kind": "Pardon", "date": "2026-09-03", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/jeremy-kettler/" }, { "id": "emory-jones", "name": "Emory Jones", "kind": "Pardon", "date": "2026-09-08", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/emory-jones/" }, { "id": "molly-ann-bloom", "name": "Molly Ann Bloom", "kind": "Commutation", "date": "2026-09-03", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/molly-ann-bloom/" }, { "id": "holly-frantzen", "name": "Holly Leanne Frantzen", "kind": "Commutation", "date": "2026-09-03", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/holly-frantzen/" }, { "id": "shemika-williams", "name": "Shemika Williams", "kind": "Commutation", "date": "2026-09-03", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/shemika-williams/" }, { "id": "kevin-harden", "name": "Kevin Harden", "kind": "Commutation", "date": "2026-09-03", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/kevin-harden/" }, { "id": "jerry-haymon", "name": "Jerry Haymon", "kind": "Commutation", "date": "2026-09-03", "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/jerry-haymon/" } ], "fec": [] }, { "id": "john-dougherty", "name": "John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty", "date": "2026-09-03", "kind": "Commutation", "offense": "Convicted at trial in 2021 of bribing a Philadelphia City Council member and at a second trial in 2023 of embezzling nearly $600,000 from IBEW Local 98, the electricians’ union he ran for almost three decades; sentenced to six years.", "link": "No payment, lobbyist or Trump connection is documented; Dougherty was a Democratic power broker in Pennsylvania. The Inquirer reports that his lawyer said the commutation came after he had been in regular communication with White House staff about his wife’s severe, long-standing health problems, and that a White House official said those circumstances figured into Trump’s decision, particularly because her father, her primary caretaker, had died the year before.", "record": [ "He served less than two years and was released from the Lewisburg penitentiary on September 4. The Inquirer reports the commutation also relieves about $1.6 million in restitution, with no monitoring or house arrest." ], "response": "Dougherty’s lawyer announced the grant and cited his wife’s health.", "correction": "An earlier version said Dougherty was convicted of bribery and embezzlement in 2023. He was convicted of bribery at a 2021 trial and of embezzlement at a second trial in 2023. Corrected September 18, 2026.", "status": "Sentence commuted; restitution relieved", "people": [ "donald-trump" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Johnny Doc’s prison sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump, his lawyer says", "publisher": "The Philadelphia Inquirer", "url": "https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/johnny-doc-released-prison-commutation-president-trump-20260903.html", "date": "2026-09-03", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Johnny Doc is a free man after President Donald Trump cut his six-year prison term short", "publisher": "The Philadelphia Inquirer", "url": "https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/john-dougherty-johnny-doc-released-prison-free-trump-commutation-20260904.html", "date": "2026-09-04", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Trump commutes sentence of convicted union leader John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty, lawyer says", "publisher": "NBC News", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-commutes-sentence-convicted-union-leader-john-johnny-doc-dougher-rcna596041", "date": "2026-09-03", "kind": "Reporting" }, { "title": "Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present)", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present", "date": "2026-09-09", "kind": "Primary record" }, { "title": "John Dougherty found guilty in union embezzlement trial, his second felony conviction in as many years", "publisher": "The Philadelphia Inquirer", "url": "https://www.inquirer.com/news/john-dougherty-trial-verdict-guilty-brian-burrows-ibew-local-98-20231207.html", "date": "2023-12-07", "kind": "Reporting" } ], "url": "https://innercircleledger.com/pardons/john-dougherty/", "named_people": [], "fec": [] } ] }