Trump pardons Giuliani, others accused of seeking to overturn his 2020 defeat
The move would end "a grave national injustice" and "continue the process of national reconciliation," Trump said
President Donald Trump has pardoned Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and dozens of other allies accused of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss, a US Justice Department official said on Monday, in a largely symbolic move that does not apply to any state charges.
Trump, in a proclamation dated Friday (7 November), said the move would end "a grave national injustice" and "continue the process of national reconciliation," according to a document posted on X by Ed Martin, who oversees the department's weaponisation group set up to look into improper politically motivated cases.
The Justice Department had been investigating a plan by Trump and his supporters to submit alternative slates of state electors to reverse President Joe Biden's victory in the November 2020 presidential election. Trump won a second term, defeating Biden, in the 2024 election.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
However, none of the fake electors nor Trump's lawyers were charged by federal prosecutors.
Pardons include at least 77 people
Trump was indicted over the alleged plot to seek phony electors backing his false claims that he won in 2020, but the case was dismissed after last year's election when prosecutors cited Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
Several US states, including Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Nevada, also investigated the alleged electors scheme, with some filing charges against multiple individuals, although criminal charges in Michigan were dismissed in September.
Trump's pardons include 77 people but could include others not named, the document said. Presidential pardons only apply to federal charges and do not apply to state cases.
The list also includes Mark Meadows, Jeffrey Clark, Christina Bobb, John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, Kenneth Chesebro, among others. The pardon does not apply to Trump, according to the document on X.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt defended the latest pardons on Monday, saying that challenging an election "is the cornerstone of democracy."
Several of Trump's other recent pardons were not officially announced by the White House as they happened.
