Among those pardoned were Trump allies like the president's former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
"What other purpose is served by pardoning someone who hasn't been charged with any federal crime?" Olson said in a Tuesday email to Fox News Digital. "Some of the beneficiaries will treat this gesture as if it vindicates their good name, or establishes that they should not have been disbarred or disgraced. But those are not things a presidential pardon can do."
For example, Giuliani was disbarred in both New York and Washington in 2024. The Manhattan appeals court in New York determined in July 2024 that Giuliani routinely made inaccurate statements about the 2020 election, and the decision said that he "baselessly attacked and undermined the integrity of this country’s electoral process."
Even so, Olson said that there could be some benefit for those pardoned — even if they don’t face federal charges — in the event it could protect them from prosecution from a future administration. However, those benefits could be limited in this instance, he said.
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Rudy Giuliani, the former personal lawyer for former U.S. President Donald Trump, departs the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. District Courthouse on December 11, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The White House did not provide comment to Fox News Digital on why the pardons were issued now, but compared charges Trump allies faced to "communist tactics."
"These great Americans were persecuted and put through hell by the Biden Administration for challenging an election, which is the cornerstone of democracy," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday. "Getting prosecuted for challenging results is something that happens in communist Venezuela, not the United States of America, and President Trump is putting an end to the Biden Regime’s communist tactics once and for all."
Other prominent figures pardoned include former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell. Justice Department Pardon Attorney Ed Martin announced the pardons Sunday.
Trump previously has issued pardons for those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, which occurred as Congress was poised to certify the 2020 election results.
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In January, just hours after his inauguration, Trump pardoned more than 1,500 charged with crimes stemming from the attack. Among those were Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader, who faced a sentence of 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-issues-sweeping-pardons-2020-election-allies-what-move-really-means