Trump pardons election fraud whistleblowers targeted by Biden
US President Donald Trump has issued broad pardons to dozens of people targeted by the previous administration for challenging the 2020 election results, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Trump repeatedly claimed election fraud in the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden.
The list, released on Monday by US Pardon Attorney Ed Martin, features high-profile figures such as Giuliani, John Eastman, and Mark Meadows, allegedly connected to efforts to challenge the certified results of the election.
The group also includes Sidney Powell and Boris Epshteyn, who were allegedly involved in legal and political campaigns to challenge the outcome in several key states.
“This proclamation ends a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 Presidential Election and continues the process of national reconciliation,” the document says, noting that it does not extend to the sitting US president.
Giuliani and Meadows, the White House chief of staff during Trump’s first term, have faced indictments in state cases linked to alleged attempts to overturn the election. Eastman, Trump’s legal adviser at the time, was charged for his involvement in legal strategies regarding alternate electors.
Powell, the president’s former lawyer, was charged in Georgia with election-related misdemeanors. She has since pleaded guilty to six counts of conspiracy to interfere with election duties and accepted a sentence of six years’ probation and a $6,000 fine.
The legal cases against Trump’s campaign team were part of a broader crackdown on efforts to challenge the election results, which contributed to the January 6 Capitol riots. Federal and congressional investigations followed, charging over 1,500 people and examining attempts to overturn the vote. Trump’s pardons now grant clemency to those prosecuted in connection with these events.
