Trump pardons 11 people, including ex-Abramoff business partner
The White House said nine of the pardons involved cases tied to vehicle emissions controls, while another went to Adam Kidan.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
President Donald Trump pardoned 11 people Friday, including Adam Kidan, a former business associate of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the White House said. The clemency actions add to a second-term pardon record that The Associated Press has described as focused heavily on allies, public figures and people aligned with Trump politically.
The White House said nine of the people pardoned had faced Clean Air Act-related charges connected to disabling vehicle emissions monitoring systems or selling equipment used to bypass those systems. Trump had previewed part of the action earlier Friday on Truth Social, saying he had signed pardons for six people he said were punished for “fixing their car.”
In that post, Trump wrote that it was his “Great Honor” to grant pardons to people he said were “persecuted by the Biden Administration” and were in prison or headed there. He added, in capital letters, that he was “setting them all free” immediately.
The pardons followed a memo Trump signed Monday directing the Environmental Protection Agency that Americans may repair their own vehicles as they choose, according to The Associated Press. While signing that memo, Trump cited a diesel mechanic he had pardoned last year who had disabled emissions monitoring equipment, the AP reported.
The White House said the memo also covered aftermarket auto parts and would override the California Air Resources Board’s authority to review parts that affect vehicle emissions. In announcing the pardons, the White House said Trump had “relieved consumers from these regulatory burdens.”
Kidan’s pardon was separate from the emissions-related cases. The White House said Kidan pleaded guilty in 2005 to fraud and conspiracy charges tied to the purchase of a fleet of gambling boats and was sentenced in 2006 to nearly six years in prison.
The case was part of a wider investigation into the early-2000s lobbying scandal involving Abramoff, Capitol Hill, the Interior Department and members of President George W. Bush’s administration, according to The Associated Press. Abramoff became one of the central figures in that scandal.
After leaving prison in 2009, Kidan worked at a staffing agency, later founded Chartwell Staffing Solutions and now serves as president of Empire Workforce Solutions, the White House said. Newsday reported in March that Kidan was among the hosts of a fundraiser at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort for a Republican congressional candidate from Long Island.
The Associated Press reported that a message sent to Kidan’s business seeking comment was not immediately returned Friday evening.
Trump also pardoned ranch owner Jack Harvard, the White House said. The White House cited Harvard’s “upstanding record” after his conviction and said he had allowed U.S. military and NATO forces to train on his property at no cost.
The White House did not immediately provide further information about Harvard’s conviction, according to The Associated Press.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.