Trump Supporters Secured Presidential Pardons With Millions in Donations, Wiping Out $1.5 Billion in Penalties
NEWS & RESEARCH
President Trump gave out numerous pardons to wealthy individuals who donated to his campaign. These include the founder of electric vehicle company Nikola, convicted of defrauding investors, who donated more than $1.8 million to Trump’s presidential campaign; a Venezuelan-Italian banker, convicted of charges related to wire fraud and bribery, whose daughter donated $3.5 million to Trump super PAC MAGA Inc; and a nursing home executive convicted of tax crimes whose mother donated to and raised millions of dollars for Trump.
SOURCES: New York Times | ABC News | Lawyer Oyer | Violation Tracker
ANALYSIS & OPINION
Trump’s pardons of donors were condemned by law experts and practicing attorneys. Law professor Kimberly Wehle told New York Times contributor Thomas B. Edsall that the pardons were, “a kind of abject, blatant pay-to-play corruption that we haven’t seen before.” A former federal prosecutor told the New York Times that defense attorneys couldn’t get wealthy clients accused of white collar crimes to take plea deals, “because they felt they’re better off spending their money on a political donation” and “getting a pardon.” The donors and ultra-rich were just the tip of the iceberg, including billionaire Binance founder Changpeng Zhao and Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the online black market Silk Road. Thus far in his second term, Trump has pardoned some 1,600 people, including former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich; the former congressman George Santos; Proud Boys leaders Enrique Tarrio; and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes.
SOURCES: Guest Essay: New York Times | New York Times | New Yorker
HOW TO FIX IT
Congressional action:
Introduce and pass legislation that would require the administration provide Congress information pertaining to a pardoned individual’s prosecution and pardon. and make it clear that pardons “could not be doled out in exchange for bribes.”
Pass Rep. Steve Cohen’s Constitutional Amendment to clarify and limit a President’s pardon power that prohibit a self-pardon, pardons of family members, and clarify that no pardon “issued for a corrupt purpose” is valid.
Reintroduce and pass the Pardon Transparency and Accountability Act of 2025, which would require the president to publish the issue date, recipient, and full text of each pardon or reprieve granted.
Support investigations by independent agencies and demands for civil accountability for legal violations.
Pass campaign finance reform legislation that forcefully curtails coordination between candidates’ campaigns and outside groups, such as super PACs.
State action: Continue to enforce state law and pursue charges in states that are not covered by a federal pardon.
Legislation: S.256 - Pardon Transparency and Accountability Act of 2025| H.J.Res.13 - Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States limiting the pardon power of the President
