Trump is pardoning dozens of allies and backers. Here's who might be seeking clemency

President Donald Trump has doled retired dozens of enforcement clemency grants successful the past fewer weeks alone, issuing pardons and commutations to large concern figures, governmental supporters and different allies.

Some anticipation he's conscionable getting started.

Trump started wielding his statesmanlike mercy powers aggressively connected the archetypal time of his 2nd term, erstwhile helium pardoned astir 1,500 people who were charged successful transportation with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot astatine the U.S. Capitol. Presidential pardons erase national transgression convictions, portion commutations shorten oregon cancel situation sentences, and sometimes related fines.

In consequent months, clemency recipients person included a slew of well-known names, including erstwhile Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, ex-Hunter Biden concern spouse Devon Archer, Nikola laminitis Trevor Milton, world TV stars Julie and Todd Chrisley, disgraced erstwhile U.S. Rep. George Santos and Binance laminitis Changpeng Zhao.

On Monday, Trump granted mostly symbolic pardons to much than six twelve radical who were progressive successful efforts to overturn his nonaccomplishment to Joe Biden successful the 2020 statesmanlike race, U.S. pardon lawyer Ed Martin revealed connected societal media. The radical included successful the batch of pardons are not facing national charges related to the 2020 election. The statesmanlike pardon powerfulness does not widen to state-level prosecutions.

That radical includes Rudy Giuliani, Trump's onetime idiosyncratic lawyer and erstwhile New York City mayor, arsenic good arsenic his erstwhile White House main of unit Mark Meadows.

Some recipients of Trump's clemency, including multiple people progressive successful the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, person since been charged with new crimes.

The Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney has a formal process for radical to use for clemency, and the bureau has established standards for considering petitions. But Trump's White House has reportedly taken implicit overmuch of the process, including by appointing a erstwhile clemency recipient, Alice Johnson, arsenic the administration's "pardon czar."

Prior presidents person been accused of misusing their clemency powers, including Biden, whose last-minute pardons for his household members and preemptive pardons for others generated bipartisan condemnations.

But Trump's approach, which has astatine times favored celebrated figures and those who person heaped praise upon him, has spurred unsocial criticism.

"It's similar a personage pardon-a-thon," John Yoo, a erstwhile George W. Bush medication official, told The Washington Post successful June.

It has besides fixed emergence to a cottage manufacture of lawyers and lobbyists who are charging steep fees to assistance their clients question Trump's clemency, the online work NOTUS reported.

Trump pulled backmost connected the pardons implicit the summer, aft White House officials grew acrophobic astir the efforts to nett disconnected the process, NBC News reported past month. But the raft of clemency actions successful caller weeks suggests that Trump does not presently stock those concerns.

That could beryllium bully quality for a fig of high-profile figures who person been eyed arsenic imaginable candidates for pardons oregon commutations from Trump.

Based connected nationalist reports and the president's ain remarks, here's who that database mightiness include:

The House Judiciary Committee's Democratic number connected Monday shared "whistleblower information" that Maxwell, the longtime accomplice of notorious enactment offender Jeffrey Epstein, is preparing a "commutation application" for the Trump administration.

Maxwell is presently serving a 20-year situation condemnation for acting arsenic a procurer of teenage girls for Epstein. The Supreme Court successful aboriginal October declined to instrumentality up Maxwell's entreaty of her conviction.

She "has bully crushed to believe" that she "may person the bonzer assistance of clemency from you," Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the committee's ranking member, accused Trump successful a letter seeking answers from him.

"Feigning ignorance and distancing yourself from the situation, you person pointedly refused to regularisation retired clemency for her," Raskin wrote to Trump.

Trump has fixed ambiguous answers erstwhile asked connected aggregate occasions astir that anticipation of pardoning Maxwell.

Asked connected Oct. 6 if helium was considering a pardon for her, Trump said, "I haven't heard the sanction successful truthful long. I tin accidental this, that I'd person to instrumentality a look astatine it. I would person to instrumentality a look."

"I volition talk to the DOJ," Trump said erstwhile asked to clarify if helium was considering it. "I wouldn't see it oregon not see — I don't cognize thing astir it."

A White House spokeswoman, successful effect to the whistleblower claims shared Monday, told NBC that it "does not remark connected imaginable clemency requests."

"As President Trump has stated, pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell is not thing helium has thought about," the spokeswoman said.

Lauren Hersh, nationalist manager of anti-trafficking radical World Without Exploitation, said successful a connection Tuesday that Maxwell's condemnation "should beryllium upheld similar anyone else's."

"To present entertain a commutation would sadly nonstop a wide connection to survivors of her crimes — and to countless others who person been victimized sexually — that her powerfulness outweighs information and that the justness owed to survivors tin beryllium denied," Hersh said.

Music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs' way to clemency presently appears constrictive astatine best.

Combs was sentenced to much than 4 years down bars successful aboriginal October implicit his condemnation connected 2 prostitution-related charges.

After his conviction, Combs' lawyers reached retired to Trump to question a pardon, a subordinate of his ineligible squad told CNN.

"It's my knowing that we've reached retired and had conversations successful notation to a pardon," lawyer Nicole Westmoreland told the quality outlet.

Trump said successful an Aug. 1 interview with Newsmax that helium was leaning against pardoning Combs.

On Oct. 6, Trump confirmed that Combs' squad had reached out.

"A batch of radical person asked maine for pardons. I telephone him 'Puff Daddy,' [he] has asked maine for a pardon," Trump said successful the Oval Office.

After TMZ reported connected Oct. 20 that Trump was considering commuting Combs' sentence, the White House pushed back, calling the communicative false.

Elizabeth Holmes, the laminitis of Theranos, successful precocious 2022 was sentenced to much than 11 years successful situation for deceiving investors astir her now-shuttered company's blood-testing technology.

Trump has not commented connected Holmes, and she has not explicitly pleaded for clemency, though she has maintained she was "wrongly convicted of defrauding investors."

Holmes is nevertheless included successful the online betting site Polymarket's list of imaginable Trump pardon subjects, with her chances presently connected par with Maxwell's.

On Tuesday, Politico reported that immoderate radical who place with the pro-Trump "Make America Healthy Again" question person thrown their enactment down Holmes.

In precocious August, Holmes resumed posting connected her dormant societal media relationship connected X. Some of her posts appear to approvingly notation Trump and officials successful his administration, portion others detail her allegedly harsh situation conditions.

On Oct. 31 she reached retired to Santos, whose condemnation Trump had precocious commuted, writing, "Glad you are moving to hole the galore problems you person experienced personally."

On Nov.3, she responded to a station calling Trump the "Best President Ever" successful effect to the president reportedly stepping successful to assistance supply aesculapian attraction to Scott Adams, 1 of his supporters.

SBF is serving a 25-year situation sentence pursuing his conviction successful precocious 2023 for defrauding customers of his cryptocurrency speech FTX.

The 33-year-old and his parents person reportedly pursued a pardon, successful portion by consulting a lawyer with ties to Trump, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal some reported successful March. Bankman-Fried has besides expressed much blimpish governmental views successful media interviews conducted aft Trump returned to the White House.

Trump has embraced the crypto manufacture successful his 2nd term, but determination is nary denotation that helium is considering a pardon for Bankman-Fried.

After Trump pardoned Zhao, the laminitis of crypto speech Binance, connected Oct. 23, SBF's chances of getting a pardon spiked connected Polymarket.

Asked successful a CBS "60 Minutes" interview wherefore helium pardoned Zhao, Trump said: "Okay, are you ready? I don't cognize who helium is."

Allies of Menendez, the erstwhile Democratic U.S. legislator from New Jersey, person made aggregate attempts to inquire Trump for a pardon oregon commutation of his 11-year situation sentence, NBC reported successful May.

While Trump has not ruled retired clemency for Menendez, immoderate of the erstwhile senator's allies judge the president volition yet diminution to bash so, NBC reported, citing radical acquainted with the matter.

Menendez, 71, was convicted successful July 2024 of bribery and different charges. He reported to situation successful June.

— CNBC's Dan Mangan contributed to this report.