- President Donald Trump issued a number of high-profile pardons this week, including MAGA allies and donors convicted of nonviolent offenses.
- Critics cry corruption, but supporters remember Joe Biden's use of the pardon to protect his own family before he left office.
- Ed Martin, Trump's pardon attorney, said about one of this week's pardons: "No MAGA left behind."
President Donald Trump has issued a number of high-profile pardons in recent days, garnering criticism from Democrats and centrist Republicans — but not from Trump’s allies.
About one of these pardons, Trump pardon attorney Ed Martin recently posted to X: “No MAGA left behind.”
Here’s a list of Trump’s acts of clemency from the last week.
Reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
On Tuesday, Trump announced his intentions to pardon reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, both of whom were convicted of tax evasion and bank fraud in 2022.
Savannah Chrisley, their daughter, is an ally to the Trump family, having filmed an episode of “My View with Lara Trump” earlier this year and speaking at the Republican National Convention last summer, per Axios.
Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland
Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, who is Republican, resigned several years ago after pleading guilty to conspiracy. He had also been accused of accepting bribes and facilitating grift.
“I am very humbled and deeply appreciative,” Rowland said in a statement to WTNH. “This is a wonderful final resolution.”
Former Congressman Michael Grimm
Former Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., was convicted in 2014 of tax fraud. Prosecutors also alleged that he threatened a reporter who questioned him about his case, per CBS News.
Grimm is a former Marine and FBI agent. He served about six months in prison, then unsuccessfully tried to return to politics, losing several campaigns in the primary stage.
In September 2024, Grimm was paralyzed from the chest down after a horse threw him during a polo tournament.
Grimm now works at Newsmax, a right-wing television network, from which position he enthusiastically supports Trump.
Former Virginia sheriff Scott Jenkins
Longtime Trump supporter Scott Jenkins was convicted of fraud and bribery in December 2024. Trump pardoned him just before he was set to report to jail on Tuesday.
“Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL,” Trump posted to Truth Social, accusing Biden and “Radical Left monsters” of leaving Jenkins “for dead.”
Trump said that Jenkins had tried to offer evidence defending himself — Jenkins was accused of taking bribes from eight people who wished to avoid traffic tickets and carry firearms without permits — but that the judge had “shut him down ... then went on a tirade.”
It was about this pardon that Martin wrote: “No MAGA left behind.”
Gang leader Larry Hoover
Trump also commuted the life sentence of Larry Hoover, a convicted murderer and gang leader. Hoover’s convictions occurred decades ago and he has since renounced his gang ties, according to the BBC.
After news of Trump’s commutation broke online, Hoover’s lawyer Justin Moore stated: “We got Larry Hoover out of federal prison — when many said it was impossible. … Illinois must send him home for good.”
Louisiana rapper NBA YoungBoy
NBA YoungBoy, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, saw his Utah conviction pardoned.
Gaulden, now 25, was initially sentenced by a U.S. District Court judge in Utah in December to nearly two years in prison and five years of probation over firearms charges.
Gaulden was credited for time spent in jail for an arrest related to a prescription fraud ring in April 2024. Gaulden also pleaded no contest to two counts of identity fraud, two counts of forgery and six counts of unlawful pharmacy conduct.
Pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson told Fox News they considered Gaulden’s upbringing in an impoverished neighborhood before issuing the pardon, as well as the circumstances surrounding the firearms charges.
“I want to thank President Trump for granting me a pardon and for giving me the opportunity to keep building — as a man, as a father, and as an artist," Gaulden wrote on his Instagram. “This moment means a lot.”
Paul Walczak
At the end of April, Trump pardoned Paul Walczak, a former nursing home executive whose tax crimes left him owing over $4 million to the federal government.
Walczak was convicted of depriving his employees of tens of millions of dollars, using those funds instead to buy jewelry, trips and a $2 million yacht.
His pardon followed $1-million-per-person fundraising dinner that Trump held at Mar-a-Lago. Elizabeth Fago, Walczak’s mother, was in attendance, per The New York Times. She has donated millions to the GOP.
This is not an exhaustive list of Trump’s second-term pardons.
How the pardon has morphed into a political tool
It is not unusual for presidents to issue pardons or to commute sentences, especially to people who have committed nonviolent offenses. And clemency requests have skyrocketed in the modern era, with every president since George W. Bush receiving tens of thousands of requests.
G.W. Bush granted only 189 pardons. President Bill Clinton, his predecessor, granted 396, while President Barack Obama, his successor, granted 212. During President Donald Trump’s first term he granted 144 pardons.
Former President Joe Biden granted just 80 pardons, but his were “historically unique,” per Pew Research Center. He issued “preemptive pardons” to prominent figures that he believed Trump might pursue charges against, including Dr. Anthony Fauci and some of his family members, including his son Hunter Biden.
Trump began his second term by pardoning or commuting the sentences of over 1,200 white nationalists and other MAGA loyalists who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.