In case you missed it over the weekend, Trump pardoned 77 – SEVENTY SEVEN! – people on Sunday who helped him try to overturn the 2020 election. Rudy Giuliani got one. Mark Meadows got one. Seventy-five people accused of posing as fake electors in seven swing states got them too.
It was payment for services rendered.
The pardons wipe out federal charges, but state cases in Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia are still moving forward – though all three have hit roadblocks. Arizona’s case stalled after the attorney general’s office botched the initial filings. Nevada prosecutors are dealing with their own procedural mess. Georgia’s case against fake electors is tangled up in appeals over whether Fani Willis should have been disqualified.
So while Trump can’t erase the state charges, the state cases aren’t exactly sprinting to trial either. Which means most of these people will never face real consequences for trying to subvert an election.
Trump’s argument for the pardons was that the prosecutions were politically motivated. Which is rich coming from a guy who posts on Truth Socail demands for his Justice Department investigate his enemies. But consistency has never been his strong suit.
What makes this round particularly brazen is how transactional it is. These weren’t people who got swept up in a protest or made a mistake. They were lawyers, operatives, and officials who knowingly participated in a scheme to replace legitimate electors with fake ones. They signed fake documents. They showed up at state capitols with fraudulent certificates. Some of them are still facing charges for it.
Giuliani lost his law license over this. Meadows was Trump’s chief of staff and allegedly orchestrated parts of the pressure campaign on state officials. Sidney Powell pushed conspiracy theories so wild even Trump’s other lawyers distanced themselves. Now they’re all pardoned.
CNN’s analysis called the pardons “political” but noted they’re also “transactional.” That’s underselling it. This is Trump telling anyone willing to break the law for him that he’ll protect them if they’re loyal. It’s not just corrupt – it’s a blueprint.
The fake elector scheme was an attempt to create enough confusion that Mike Pence could refuse to certify the election results on January 6. It didn’t work because Pence refused to go along with it. But the people who built the plan, recruited the fake electors, and signed the fraudulent documents just got a presidential hall pass.
Some still face state charges. But based on how those cases are going, most will walk. And the message is clear: try to steal an election for Trump and he’ll take care of you later.