Trump grants pardons to Giuliani, others in 2020 election probe

Mohan Sinha
12 Nov 2025, 20:53 GMT+10

President Donald Trump has granted pardons to Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and several other allies accused of trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat, a U.S. Justice Department official said on November 10
The move is mainly symbolic and does not cover any state-level charges
In a proclamation issued late last week, Trump said the pardons aimed to end “a grave national injustice” and promote “national reconciliation,” according to a document shared on X by Ed Martin, head of the Justice Department’s weaponization review group

WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump has granted pardons to Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and several other allies accused of trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat, a U.S. Justice Department official said on November 10.

The move is mainly symbolic and does not cover any state-level charges.

In a proclamation issued late last week, Trump said the pardons aimed to end "a grave national injustice" and promote "national reconciliation," according to a document shared on X by Ed Martin, head of the Justice Department's weaponization review group.

Federal investigators had been probing a plan by Trump and his team to submit alternate slates of electors to reverse Joe Biden's 2020 victory. While Trump was later indicted in connection with the scheme, the case was dismissed after his 2024 election win, as Justice Department policy bars prosecuting a sitting president. None of the so-called fake electors or Trump's lawyers were federally charged.

Several states, including Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Nevada, launched their own investigations into the electors plot, though most cases were dropped — including one in Michigan in September.

The pardon list includes Mark Meadows, Jeffrey Clark, Christina Bobb, John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, and Kenneth Chesebro, among others. The document confirms that Trump himself was omitted.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt defended the pardons, saying that contesting an election "is the cornerstone of democracy." The White House has not formally announced some of Trump's recent pardons.