Trump pardons Giuliani, Meadows, and dozens of allies accused of 2020 election plot
President Trump pardoned Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, and dozens of others accused of trying to overturn the 2020 election, though the clemency applies only to federal crimes.
November 10, 2025 - 10:35 AM ET • 2 min read
US President Donald Trump issued pardons for his former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and dozens of other political allies accused of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The acts of clemency were announced late Sunday by US pardon attorney Ed Martin, who posted the "full, complete and unconditional" pardons on X. The proclamation stated that the move would "end a grave national injustice" and continue "the process of national reconciliation."
The pardons cover scores of individuals who were allegedly involved in the scheme to install fake Republican electors in several battleground states, which aimed to falsely declare Trump the winner over Democrat Joe Biden.
Among those granted clemency were several attorneys who advised Trump during and immediately after the 2020 election, including Sidney Powell, John Eastman, and Jenna Ellis. Also included were a number of so-called false electors accused of trying to hijack the certification process.
The maneuver is largely symbolic, however, because presidential pardons apply only to federal crimes. All of the recipients, including Giuliani and Meadows, were charged by state-level prosecutors and continue to face legal peril in state courts, where the federal pardons offer no protection.
Giuliani, a former New York City mayor, was a vocal proponent of Trump's claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent—claims that courts across the country found unfounded. He recently lost a $148 million defamation lawsuit brought by two former election workers in Georgia whose lives were affected by the conspiracies he promoted.
The clemency grants follow recent pardons and commutations issued by President Trump, including those for former U.S. Rep. George Santos and an ex-CEO of a cryptocurrency exchange. Constitutional law experts noted that the second-term actions are notable for their political and personal connections to the president, reflecting "more of a sense of the insider pardon than we've seen previously."
The pardons for those involved in the 2020 election challenges cover 77 people, according to reports, and were issued five years after the election they were accused of trying to subvert.