President Donald Trump has granted full pardons to Rudy Giuliani, his ex-personal attorney, and Mark Meadows, his former chief of staff, in connection with their attempts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election.
On Sunday evening, Ed Martin, the pardon attorney, shared the official proclamation online. This document also extends pardons to conservative attorneys Sidney Powell and John Eastman. It clearly states that these pardons are “full, complete, and unconditional,” but it explicitly notes that they do not extend to Trump himself. Importantly, none of the individuals mentioned had been charged with any federal crimes, which is the sole category eligible for presidential pardons.
According to the Associated Press, this action highlights Trump’s ongoing efforts to reshape the narrative surrounding the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden. The pardons also encompass Republicans who served as alternate electors for Trump in states won by Biden and who are currently facing state charges for filing false certificates asserting they were legitimate electors. The proclamation characterizes these prosecutions as “a grave national injustice inflicted upon the American people,” stating that the pardons aim to further “the process of national reconciliation.”
