Trump issues sweeping pardons for 2020 election allies — what the move really means

President Donald Trump issued pardons for more than 70 people accused of seeking to overturn the 2020 election results. 

The move largely has been viewed as a symbolic gesture, as the presidential pardons only cover federal charges and those involved don’t have any federal charges leveled against them.

Among those pardoned were Trump allies like the president’s former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who peddled claims that the 2020 election was “stolen” from Trump and is embroiled in a case in Arizona where he faces state charges for election interference.

Although the pardons cannot extend to state charges like those Giuliani faces in Arizona, the pardons could pave the way for some to attempt to redeem their reputation, according to Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies.

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Olson said that while the pardon itself cannot reverse a disbarment, loss of license or loss of employment, the pardon could provide fuel for the pardon beneficiaries to pursue reconsideration of these consequences.

“What other purpose is served by pardoning someone who hasn’t been charged with any federal crime?” Olson said in a Tuesday email to Fox News Digital. “Some of the beneficiaries will treat this gesture as if it vindicates their good name, or establishes that they should not have been disbarred or disgraced. But those are not things a presidential pardon can do.”

For example, Giuliani was disbarred in both New York and Washington in 2024. The Manhattan appeals court in New York determined in July 2024 that Giuliani routinely made inaccurate statements about the 2020 election, and the decision said that he “baselessly attacked and undermined the integrity of this country’s electoral process.”

Even so, Olson said that there could be some benefit for those pardoned — even if they don’t face federal charges — in the event it could protect them from prosecution from a future administration. However, those benefits could be limited in this instance, he said.

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“That angle is less important if the passage of time has meant that prosecution would be barred anyway by relevant statutes of limitation, as is likely to be the case with many charges here,” Olson said.

While proponents of the pardons claim that they restore justice, critics have blasted the pardons as an attempt to undermine democracy.

“First, Trump pardoned the violent insurrectionists who beat cops. Now, he pardons the key instigators of January 6th,” Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said in a Monday social media post. “We need to see this for what it is: An attempt to erase history, so it can be repeated.”

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Meanwhile, Giuliani’s team claimed that he didn’t seek a pardon from Trump, but argued that the pardon is grounds for Giuliani to have his bar license restored.

“Mayor Rudy Giuliani stands by his work following the 2020 presidential election, when he responded to the legitimate concerns of thousands of everyday Americans,” Ted Goodman, a spokesperson for Giuliani, said in a Monday post on X. 

“Mayor Giuliani never sought a pardon but is deeply grateful for President Trump’s decision,” Goodman said. “This action further highlights the years of unjust attacks against the mayor and so many others, and reinforces what should now be clear to everyone—Mayor Giuliani deserves to have his bar license immediately reinstated without delay.”

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The White House did not provide comment to Fox News Digital on why the pardons were issued now, but compared charges Trump allies faced to “communist tactics.”

“These great Americans were persecuted and put through hell by the Biden Administration for challenging an election, which is the cornerstone of democracy,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “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.”

Other prominent figures pardoned include former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell. Justice Department Pardon Attorney Ed Martin announced the pardons Sunday. 

Trump previously has issued pardons for those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, which occurred as Congress was poised to certify the 2020 election results.

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In January, just hours after his inauguration, Trump pardoned more than 1,500 charged with crimes stemming from the attack. Among those were Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader, who faced a sentence of 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.