In a move that has sent shockwaves through the American political landscape, President Donald Trump has issued sweeping pardons to dozens of his closest political allies—many of whom played pivotal roles in attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The news broke late Sunday, November 9, 2025, when Trump’s Pardon Attorney, Ed Martin, released the full list on X (formerly Twitter), according to CNN and Benzinga. The list, which includes high-profile names like Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Mark Meadows, and Jeffrey Clark, represents Trump’s most significant act of clemency since his return to office, and one of the most controversial in modern presidential history.
The official proclamation, signed and dated November 7, 2025, grants a “full, complete, and unconditional pardon” to the named individuals. According to the Department of Justice’s Pardon Attorney Ed Martin, the pardons are intended to “end a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 Presidential Election and continue the process of national reconciliation.” Yet, for many Americans, the move has only deepened the country’s political divisions.
The pardons primarily target individuals involved in the so-called “fake electors” scheme, a plan that sought to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory by submitting alternative slates of electors from key swing states—Georgia, Arizona, and Michigan. As reported by Benzinga, these efforts were designed to block the certification of the election results on January 6, 2021, a day that ultimately descended into chaos when a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol.
Among those pardoned are some of Trump’s closest confidants and legal advisers. Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor and Trump’s personal lawyer, was at the forefront of the legal challenges to the 2020 election results. Sidney Powell, another former Trump attorney, became infamous for spreading unfounded conspiracy theories about election fraud. Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff, and Jeffrey Clark, a top Justice Department official in 2020, were also granted clemency. Notably, Clark, who is now a senior official at the Office of Management and Budget, acknowledged the pardon’s limitations, writing on X, “I wish I could be declaring this legal nonsense over for good — a pardon should totally and abruptly kill off these federal bar and Georgia-federal attacks on me and many others. Sadly, that’s not immediate reality.”
The list also includes lawyers Ken Chesebro and John Eastman, two key architects behind the fake electors strategy, as well as Jenna Ellis, Trump’s 2020 campaign lawyer, and Kelli and Michael Ward, prominent figures in Arizona’s Republican Party. Chesebro and Ellis had previously pleaded guilty in the Georgia election racketeering case, with Ellis striking a cooperation deal that led to her Arizona charges being dropped.
Importantly, the pardons apply only to federal charges. As CNN notes, none of the people on the list are currently facing federal indictments, though several were named as unindicted co-conspirators in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s election subversion case against Trump—a case that was withdrawn after Trump’s 2024 election victory. However, many of the pardoned individuals still face ongoing state-level prosecutions in Georgia, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada. The presidential proclamation explicitly states that the pardon does not apply to Trump himself.
The legal implications of these pardons are complex. While Trump’s action may shield his allies from future federal prosecution, it does nothing to halt the state criminal cases many are still battling. As Jeffrey Clark pointed out, “that’s not immediate reality” for those still facing state charges. Legal experts say the pardoned figures may try to use the clemency as leverage in their state cases, but a presidential pardon cannot erase state-level crimes.
Reactions have been predictably polarized. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, speaking to CNN on November 10, 2025, offered effusive praise for those pardoned, calling them “great Americans” who were “persecuted and put through hell by the Biden Administration for challenging an election, which is the cornerstone of democracy.” She added, “Getting prosecuted for challenging results is something that happens in communist Venezuela, not the United States of America, and President Trump is putting an end to the Biden Regime’s communist tactics once and for all.”
Giuliani’s spokesperson Ted Goodman echoed that sentiment, stating that the former mayor “stands by his work following the 2020 presidential election” and “never sought a pardon but is deeply grateful for President Trump’s decision.” Trump himself has described Giuliani as the “greatest Mayor in the history of New York City” and announced plans to award him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2025, as reported by Benzinga. Giuliani’s legal battles have been extensive, including a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems, which was settled in September 2025.
Trump’s latest round of pardons is only the most recent in a series of controversial clemency decisions. Earlier in his second term, he pardoned over 1,000 people charged or convicted in connection with the January 6 Capitol attack. He also granted clemency to figures outside the election subversion cases, including retired New York City police officer Tu Le, convicted for stalking a New Jersey family on behalf of the Chinese government, and former Major League Baseball star Darryl Strawberry, who was convicted of tax evasion in 1995.
Not all of Trump’s pardon decisions have been met with applause. His pardon of Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who had faced federal charges, was slammed by Democratic senators. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) called it an example of corruption, especially in light of Binance’s $2 billion investment in Trump-linked World Liberty Financial. Trump also pardoned the three co-founders of BitMEX, a cryptocurrency exchange, who had pleaded guilty to money laundering and regulatory violations. These moves have drawn sharp criticism from political opponents, who argue that Trump is abusing the pardon power to reward political loyalty and personal connections.
Meanwhile, Trump has continued to question the official narrative of the January 6 Capitol riot. In September 2025, he took to Truth Social to accuse the FBI of secretly deploying 274 undercover agents during the riot, calling for their identification and a full accounting of their actions—a claim that contradicts a Justice Department Inspector General report denying any such presence, according to Benzinga.
As the dust settles on this latest round of pardons, the nation remains deeply divided. For Trump’s supporters, the clemency represents a long-overdue correction to what they see as political persecution. For his critics, it is yet another example of the former president placing loyalty above the rule of law. With state-level prosecutions still looming, the legal and political battles stemming from the 2020 election are far from over.
