Donald Trump’s pardon spree is an absolute disaster
With Donald Trump’s recent pardon spree, the criticism has focused on the ethics and judgment behind it. Although slamming Trump for who he is letting off the hook and why is important, there’s another aspect to this growing scandal that is flying under the radar.
On top of being highly controversial, Trump’s pardons are extremely costly. According to a recent PolitiFact analysis, Trump’s pardons so far have wiped out perhaps as much as $1.34 billion in court-ordered restitution, fines, and penalties. In other words, money meant to make victims whole or replenish government funds has been eliminated. Nikola founder Trevor Milton owed about $676 million for securities and wire fraud before Trump pardoned him. The founders of BitMEX similarly faced a $100 million penalty in a crypto fraud case until Trump wiped it away.
The Trump administration, along with the Republican Party, slams spending and claims to be obsessed with cutting everywhere to help America. Whether it’s the creation of DOGE or a “big, beautiful bill” that would harm Americans and decimate the economy, this disastrous financial component to Trump’s steroidal pardoning is rich.
There’s also no reason to think this outrage won’t continue over the next 3-1/2 years. During his first failed term, Trump granted a total of 238 clemency actions (144 pardons, 94 commutations). Now, less than five months into his second term, he’s already issued 1,558 pardons (many related to the January 6 attack on the Capitol)—more than six times as many pardons, in a fraction of the time.
This behavior stands in stark contrast to President Biden. Biden issued over 4,200 clemency acts across his four-year term. However, only 80 of these were pardons—the second-lowest on record, according to Pew Research. As for the 4,165 commutations he granted, the underlying financial obligations remained unaffected. As Trump gets away with using the pardon power to erase debts and reward allies, the American people are left footing the bill.
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month