US President Trump has granted pardons to 77 people he said were involved in attempted manipulation of the 2020 US election – including his former lawyer Giuliani. At that time, Trump lost to Biden.
US President Donald Trump has pardoned his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and other close people. This is known from within the Ministry of Justice.
Giuliani and a number of other suspects are accused of participating in Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden.
This would end “serious national injustices” and continue the process of “national reconciliation,” according to a related publication posted on the X online service by US government lawyer Ed Martin on Monday evening.
Symbolic forgiveness?
In addition to former New York Mayor Giuliani and former chief of staff Meadows, 75 other people are on the list. For example, John Eastman – a lawyer who suggested a strategy on how the official confirmation of Trump’s election loss against Joe Biden could be prevented.
Longtime Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn and conservative lawyer Sidney Powell were also among those pardoned. Dozens of Republican Party activists also received pardons. The text says forgiveness is “complete, complete and unconditional.” But the president himself was unfazed.
The pardon is essentially symbolic. A US president can only pardon people who have been convicted of a crime in federal court. However, none of those affected have been charged with a crime under federal law. So, you can still be charged under local law.
Trump as a precedent
Trump himself was impeached in two cases over his efforts to overturn his election loss to Biden in 2020: in federal court in Washington and by a court in the state of Georgia.
Since right-wing populists returned to the presidential election a year ago on November 5 2024, both processes have now been halted. The reason given was the US Department of Justice’s long-standing practice of not prosecuting sitting presidents.
The decision to drop the case sets a precedent, as no accused politician has ever run for and won a US presidential election.
