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President Donald Trump pardoned more than 70 people accused of trying to overturn the 2020 election results.
The move was largely seen as a symbolic gesture, as the presidential pardon only applies to federal charges and no federal charges have been brought against those involved.
Those pardoned included Trump allies such as the president's former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who spread claims that the 2020 election was “stolen” from Trump and is embroiled in a case in Arizona where he faces a pardon. government fees for interference in the elections.
While the pardon may not apply to state charges like Giuliani's in Arizona, it could open the door for some to try to redeem their reputations, said Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies at the libertarian Cato Institute.
Olson said that while a pardon itself cannot reverse disbarment, loss of a license or loss of a job, a pardon can give pardon beneficiaries an incentive to reconsider those consequences.
Among those pardoned were Trump allies such as the president's former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“What other purpose is served by pardoning a person who has not been charged with any federal crime?” Olson said in an email to Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “Some beneficiaries will treat this gesture as if it protects their good name or proves that they should not have been disbarred or disgraced. But that’s not what a presidential pardon can do.”
For example, Giuliani was disbarred in both New York and Washington in 2024. The Manhattan Court of Appeals in New York found in July 2024 that Giuliani routinely made inaccurate statements about the 2020 election, and the decision said he had “wantonly attacked and undermined the integrity of this country's electoral process.”
Even so, Olson said those pardoned could receive some benefit — even if they don't face federal charges — if it could protect them from prosecution by a future administration. However, those benefits may be limited in this case, he said.
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While supporters of the pardon argue that it brings justice, critics call the pardon an attempt to undermine democracy. (Adam Gray/AFP via Getty Images)
“This aspect is less important if, over time, prosecution would be barred by the relevant statutes of limitations anyway, as is likely the case with many of the charges here,” Olson said.
While supporters of the pardon argue that it brings justice, critics call the pardon an attempt to undermine democracy.
“First, Trump pardoned violent insurrectionists who beat up police officers. Now he has pardoned the key instigators of the events of January 6,” Senator. Adam SchiffCalifornia, it said in a social media post on Monday. “We need to see this for what it is: an attempt to erase history so that it can be repeated.”
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Meanwhile, Giuliani's team said he did not ask for a pardon from Trump, but argued that the pardon was grounds for Giuliani to have his lawyer's license reinstated.
“Mayor Rudy Giuliani continues his work following the 2020 presidential election, when he responded to the legitimate concerns of thousands of everyday Americans,” Ted Goodman, a spokesman for Giuliani, said in a post on X on Monday.
“Mayor Giuliani never asked for a pardon, but is deeply grateful for President Trump’s decision,” Goodman said. “This action once again highlights years of unfair attacks on the mayor and many others, and reinforces what should now be clear to everyone: Mayor Giuliani deserves to have his law license reinstated immediately and without delay.”
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Rudy Giuliani, former personal lawyer of former US President Donald Trump, leaves the E. Barrett Prettyman US District Courthouse on December 11, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The White House would not comment to Fox News Digital on why the pardons were announced now, but compared the charges against Trump allies to “communist tactics.”
“These great Americans have been persecuted and put through hell by the Biden administration for challenging an election that is the cornerstone of democracy,” White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “Holding people accountable 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 on Sunday.
Trump previously pardoned those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, which occurred as Congress was poised to certify the results of the 2020 election.
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In January, just hours after his inauguration, Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people charged with crimes related to the attack. Among them was Enrique Tarrio, a former Proud Boys leader who faced 22 years in prison for his role in inciting an insurrection.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
