By Jenna SundelShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberPresident Donald Trump on Wednesday pardoned Texas Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar and his wife, who were facing a federal bribery and conspiracy case, the latest in a series of pardons the president has issued this year.
Trump’s pardons include high-profile people in politics, reality TV, business and music. While handing out pardons, he has frequently criticized what he says is the politicalization and weaponization of the justice system.
Critics have said the pardons amplify a narrative of political persecution and cast doubt on the legitimacy of the justice system.
...January 6 Capitol Riot Defendants
Trump granted his first pardons on the day of his inauguration, January 20. He pardoned nearly all defendants charged with offenses related to the riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, a total of roughly 1,500 people. The pardons included people convicted of violent crimes against law enforcement.
Trump claimed the defendants were unfairly treated by the Justice Department. He said the pardons will end “a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years” and begin “a process of national reconciliation.”
Ross Ulbricht
Trump granted a full and unconditional pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road dark web marketplace, on January 21. Ulbricht was serving a life sentence on multiple charges, including conspiracy to distribute narcotics and money laundering.
“The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Andrew Zabavsky and Terence Dale Sutton Jr.
On January 22, Trump issued a "full and unconditional pardon" to Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department officers Andrew Zabavsky and Terence Sutton for their roles in the death of 20-year-old Karon Hylton-Brown.
The two were convicted on charges related to the death of Hylton-Brown, whom they pursued in a high-speed chase for allegedly driving a moped without a helmet.
Anti-Abortion Activists
On January 23, Trump pardoned 23 anti-abortion activists who were convicted in 2023 under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for blockading the entrance to a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic and intimidating staff and patients.
Rod Blagojevich
On February 10, Trump pardoned former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted of multiple political corruption charges that included seeking to sell an appointment to then-President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat. Trump had commuted Blagojevich’s 14-year sentence during his first term, and the pardon cleared his record.
The president said Blagojevich’s conviction and sentencing “shouldn’t have happened.” “I’ve watched him. He was set up by a lot of bad people, some of the same people I had to deal with,” Trump said at the White House as he signed the pardon.
Brian Kelsey
On March 11, Trump pardoned former Republican Tennessee state Senator Brian Kelsey, who was two weeks into a 21-month prison sentence for an illegal campaign finance scheme that he pleaded guilty to in 2022. He later tried to rescind his guilty plea.
Thomas Edward Caldwell
Thomas Caldwell’s sentence for his convictions stemming from the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol was commuted on the first day of Trump’s second term before the president issued a full pardon on March 20.
Devon Archer
On March 25, Trump granted a full pardon to Devon Archer, a former business associate of Hunter Biden, who had been convicted in 2022 for defrauding a Native American tribe in a $60 million bond scheme.
Trump said that Archer, who had been sentenced to one year and one day in prison, had been treated "very unfairly."
Trevor Milton
Trump pardoned Trevor Milton, the founder of electric vehicle start-up Nikola, on March 27. Milton had been sentenced to four years in prison for fraud but remained free pending an appeal.
BitMEX Co-founders
On March 27, Trump pardoned Benjamin Delo, Arthur Hayes, Gregory Dwyer and Samuel Reed. The four, who founded the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange, had pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement a compliant anti-money laundering program.
Trump also pardoned the corporation that owns the cryptocurrency exchange, HDR Global Trading Limited.
Michele Fiore
On April 23, Trump issued a pardon for former Las Vegas city councilwoman and state lawmaker Michele Fiore, who had been convicted of seven counts relating to wire fraud.
Federal prosecutors said at trial that Fiore had raised more than $70,000 for the statue of a Las Vegas police officer who was fatally shot in 2014 in the line of duty but spent some of it on cosmetic surgery, rent and her daughter’s wedding.
Scott Jenkins
On May 27, Trump pardoned Scott Jenkins, the former sheriff of Culpeper County, Virginia, who was convicted of accepting more than $75,000 in bribes in exchange for appointing people as auxiliary deputies. Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in 2024.
Trump posted on Truth Social that Jenkins and his family “have been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ.”
“This Sheriff is a victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice, and doesn’t deserve to spend a single day in jail. He is a wonderful person, who was persecuted by the Radical Left 'monsters,' and 'left for dead,’” Trump said in the post. “He will NOT be going to jail tomorrow, but instead will have a wonderful and productive life.”
Todd and Julie Chrisley
On May 28, Trump pardoned reality TV stars Todd Chrisley and Julie Chrisley, who were convicted in 2022 of several counts of fraud and tax evasion involving more than $30 million. Todd was serving a 12-year sentence, and Julie was serving seven years.
Their daughter, Savannah Chrisley, a vocal Trump supporter, had lobbied for their release and received the news of their pardon in a phone call from the president.
Trump said the married couple had been “given a pretty harsh treatment based on what I’m hearing.”
Henry and Imelda Cuellar
Trump on Wednesday pardoned Texas Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, who were facing a federal bribery and conspiracy case.
Trump said in a social media post that Cuellar “bravely spoke out against Open Borders” and accused Biden, a Democrat, of going after the congressman and his wife “for speaking the TRUTH.”
Federal authorities had charged the Cuellars with accepting thousands of dollars in exchange for advancing the interests of an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico.
The congressman has said he and his wife are innocent. The couple’s trial had been set to begin in April of next year.
Additional Pardons Issued by President Donald Trump in 2025
- Paul Walczak
- NBA YoungBoy
- James Callahan
- Michael Grimm
- Kevin Eric Baisden
- James and Marlene Kernan
- Mark Bashaw
- Tanner J. Mansell
- John R. Moore, Jr.
- John G. Rowland
- Charles Overton Scott
- Alexander Sittenfeld
- Earl Lamont Smith
- Charles Lavar Turner
- Jeremy Young Hutchinson
- Changpeng Zhao
- Glen Casada
- Cade Cothren
- Robert Henry Harshbarger Jr.
- Troy Lake
- Michael McMahon
- Darryl Strawberry Sr.
- Michelino Sunseri
- Joseph Lewis
- Suzanne Kaye
- Joseph Schwartz
- Daniel Edwin Wilson
- Juan Orlando Hernandez
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