A new message from your friends at People For the American Way.
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Friend,

Donald Trump just used the pardon power exactly the way he’s always
threatened to.

According to the Associated Press, earlier this week Trump issued sweeping
“full, complete, and unconditional” pardons to Rudy Giuliani, Mark
Meadows, Sidney Powell, John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark and others who helped
him fuel the effort to overturn the 2020 election. These are the people
who pushed lies, pressured officials and schemed to block the peaceful
transfer of power.^[ [link removed] ]

Trump didn’t show mercy. He delivered rewards for their loyalty.

This is exactly why Congress must pass the Protect Our Democracy Act,
which would prevent presidents from using pardons to shield their friends,
allies or themselves.

[1]Add your name >>

And the AP’s reporting lines up with something even more troubling. A new
ProPublica investigation reveals that Trump has turned clemency into a
privilege for insiders. Out of nearly sixteen hundred people he has
pardoned in his second term, only ten used the official Department of
Justice process.^[ [link removed] ]

Everyone else gained access through personal connections, political
loyalty or proximity to Trump’s inner circle.

Meanwhile more than ten thousand ordinary applicants – people who followed
every rule, including veterans and workers with decades-old convictions –
are stuck waiting. Their cases don’t move because Trump has abandoned the
system entirely.

Instead of fixing a broken clemency process, Trump built a pipeline for
donors, loyalists and culture-war figures. He erased huge penalties for
allies convicted of corruption and financial crimes. He slashed George
Santos’ sentence after a few months. He pardoned nearly fifteen hundred
people convicted for their roles on January 6.

This isn’t justice. It’s favoritism dressed up as presidential power.

This is the moment Congress must act. The Protect Our Democracy Act would
finally put guardrails around a power Trump has already shown he’s willing
to abuse.

[2]Tell Congress to pass PODA >>

And now there’s a dangerous new development. Politico reports that
Ghislaine Maxwell – convicted for her role in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex
trafficking operation – is preparing a formal request for Trump to reduce
her twenty-year sentence. Internal documents suggest she’s already
receiving unusual treatment while her application is being assembled,
including access and privileges unheard of for people in federal custody
for crimes as serious as hers.^[ [link removed] ]

Maxwell has been openly praising Trump in interviews with senior
officials. Trump has refused to rule out clemency. And this potential
commutation raises urgent questions about what Trump is willing to do for
someone with direct ties to a scandal he has spent years trying to keep at
arm’s length.

The pardon power was created to correct injustice – not bury it. And not
weaponize it for a president’s inner circle.

[3]Tell Congress to pass the Protect Our Democracy Act now. It would give
our country the safeguards we need to confront such abuses of power. >>

Trump has already shown us exactly how far he’s willing to go to protect
himself and the people around him. We can’t afford to wait for the next
pardon or the next political favor to see the damage continue. This is our
moment to draw a clear line and demand real safeguards for our democracy.

Thank you for your advocacy,

People For the American Way

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Sources:

[1] [ [link removed] ]"Trump pardons Rudy Giuliani and others who backed efforts to
overturn his 2020 election loss" AP News, 11/10/25

[2] [ [link removed] ]"How Trump Has Exploited Pardons and Clemency to Reward Allies and
Supporters" ProPublica, 11/12/25

[3] [ [link removed] ]"Ghislaine Maxwell to seek commutation, document indicates"
POLITICO, 11/10/25

 

 

 


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