President Donald Trump issued “full, complete and unconditional” pardons to his top allies charged with attempting to subvert the 2020 election, including Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, John Eastman, Sidney Powell, Christina Bobb, and Boris Epshteyn. The sweeping clemency, announced November 10, 2025, covers over a dozen figures federally prosecuted for efforts to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss.
Giuliani, Trump’s former attorney, faced charges for leading the fake electors scheme that sought to create pro-Trump slates in battleground states. Meadows, Trump’s White House chief of staff, was implicated in pressuring state officials and coordinating the January 6 strategy. Eastman, the lawyer who authored the memo outlining how Vice President Pence could reject electoral votes, had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges. Powell, a pro-Trump attorney who promoted election fraud conspiracies, also received clemency.
The pardons follow Trump’s January 2025 mass clemency for approximately 1,600 January 6 rioters, which the Brennan Center warned “green-lights future vigilante efforts to overturn elections”. This latest action specifically targets the architects of the legal and political strategy to challenge the 2020 results, effectively rewriting history around one of America’s most scrutinized elections.
Legal experts note the pardons cover only federal charges, not state prosecutions. Georgia’s election interference case against Trump and allies remains unaffected, as does the New York prosecution. However, the move severely undermines the Justice Department’s ability to prosecute election subversion, following Trump’s termination of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s federal cases against himself.
The pardons immediately nullify years of investigation and prosecution. For Giuliani, it ends his legal jeopardy after being disbarred and financially ruined by the election challenges. For Meadows, it removes criminal liability while he remains a key Trump advisor. For Eastman, who argued presidents have immunity for election interference, it validates his controversial legal theories.
Trump’s allies celebrated the move as correcting “political prosecutions,” while critics condemned it as corrupt use of pardon power to protect co-conspirators. The Brennan Center documented how Trump has systematically targeted election officials, law firms, and civic groups while rewarding election deniers, creating a chilling effect on election integrity efforts.
The timing—amid Trump’s second term—demonstrates his commitment to protecting those who attempted to keep him in power after his 2020 defeat. With 2026 midterms approaching, the pardons signal that election interference may face no federal consequences under this administration, fundamentally altering accountability for democratic norms.
Footage Charlie Kirk has been shot
Charlie Kirk has been shot
