Trevor Milton
- Status
- Pardon granted; restitution not collected
- Clemency
- Pardon · Mar 27, 2025
- People
- Donald Trump · Pam Bondi
- The case
- 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.
THE LINK TO TRUMP’S ORBIT
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.
WHAT THE RECORD SHOWS
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.
FEDERAL DONATIONS ON FILE (FEC)
AFP (citing The Wall Street Journal) and House Judiciary Committee Democrats reported that Milton and his wife gave more than $1.8 million to a Trump fundraising committee; these are the filings under his name. Amounts of $25,000 and up as filed; total on file $1,947,900. Rows marked memo are a committee’s itemized record of its share of a joint-fundraising gift; they are left out of the total so the same money is not counted twice. A filing under a name is not by itself proof of identity or intent.
| Date | Amount | Committee | Contributor as filed | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-09-24 | $100,000 | LONE STAR LIBERTY PAC | MILTON, TREVOR, PHOENIX AZ | Filing ↗ |
| 2024-10-30 | $56,600 | KENNEDY VICTORY FUND 2024 | MILTON, TREVOR, PHOENIX AZ | Filing ↗ |
| 2024-10-10 | $920,000 | TRUMP 47 COMMITTEE, INC. | MILTON, TREVOR R, PHEONIX AZ | Filing ↗ |
| 2024-10-10 | $123,900 memo | REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE | MILTON, TREVOR R. MR., PHOENIX AZ | Filing ↗ |
| 2024-10-10 | $123,900 memo | REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE | MILTON, TREVOR R. MR., PHOENIX AZ | Filing ↗ |
| 2024-10-10 | $119,300 memo | REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE | MILTON, TREVOR R. MR., PHOENIX AZ | Filing ↗ |
| 2024-10-10 | $41,300 memo | REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE | MILTON, TREVOR R. MR., PHOENIX AZ | Filing ↗ |
| 2024-09-18 | $750,000 | MAHA ALLIANCE | MILTON, TREVOR R., PHOENIX AZ | Filing ↗ |
| 2024-09-16 | $41,300 memo | LIBERTARIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE, INC. | MILTON, TREVOR, PHOENIX AZ | Filing ↗ |
| 2024-09-05 | $121,300 | KENNEDY VICTORY FUND 2024 | MILTON, TREVOR, PHOENIX AZ | Filing ↗ |
Search these receipts at fec.gov ↗ · Fetched 2026-09-18
SOURCES
- The Hill: Who is Trevor Milton, the startup founder and donor pardoned by Trump ↗
- Malay Mail (AFP): Trump pardons Nikola EV founder who donated US$1.8m to re-election campaign ↗
- Yahoo News: Trump pardons Musk rival represented by AG Pam Bondi’s brother ↗
- House Judiciary Committee Democrats: Democratic staff memo on the $1.3 billion cost of Trump pardons ↗
- U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney: Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present) ↗
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York: United States v. Trevor Milton, S1 21 Cr. 478 (ER): government letter on restitution, ECF 361 ↗
- Federal Election Commission: LONE STAR LIBERTY PAC - committee overview ↗
- Financial Times: Nikola’s Trevor Milton pardoned by Donald Trump ↗
A connection recorded here is not proof that it bought the outcome. Where a response exists, it is part of the record. How entries are labeled · Submit a correction or response · Download the ledger
