Trump Issues 11 Pardons: 'I AM SETTING THEM ALL FREE'

President Trump on Friday pardoned 11 people, including a former business partner of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and nine people identified by the White House as having helped others bypass emissions control systems on vehicles. The acts of clemency come as Trump has issued a slew of pardons in his second term, particularly for allies, public figures, and those seen as politically aligned, per the AP. His use of the presidency's sweeping ability to unilaterally grant pardons and commute sentences is among the ways the Republican's return to office has featured an expansive use of executive power. Trump earlier on Friday announced some of the pardons on social media, without IDing any of the recipients.

"It is my Great Honor to have just signed Pardons for six people who were persecuted by the Biden Administration, and were in, or being sent to, prison, for 'fixing their car,'" Trump wrote on his Truth Social media network. "I AM SETTING THEM ALL FREE, RIGHT NOW!" he added. In a list provided on Friday evening by the White House, Trump pardoned 11 people, including nine who faced charges related to violations of the Clean Air Act by disabling emissions monitoring systems on vehicles or selling devices that enabled emissions systems to be bypassed.

The pardons come after Trump on Monday signed a memo telling the Environmental Protection Agency that Americans can fix their own vehicles as they see fit. The memo also addressed aftermarket auto parts and would supersede the ability of the California Air Resources Board to evaluate parts that affect vehicle emissions. The White House, in releasing the list of those pardoned, described Trump as having "relieved consumers from these regulatory burdens."

Beyond the emissions-related pardons, Trump on Friday also issued a pardon for Adam Kidan, a former business partner of Abramoff who pleaded guilty in 2005 to fraud and conspiracy related to the purchase of a fleet of gambling boats. He was sentenced to nearly six years in prison in 2006. The case was part of a broader investigation of the early 2000s lobbying scandal involving Abramoff, Capitol Hill, the Interior Department, and members of President George W. Bush's administration. Trump on Friday also pardoned ranch owner Jack Harvard, citing an "upstanding record" post-conviction for bank fraud and praising him for allowing the US military and NATO troops to train on his land free of charge.