Reuters review finds Trump granted clemency to at least 85 public officials

President Donald Trump has granted clemency to at least 85 public officials who faced corruption-related charges or convictions, according to a Reuters investigation published Tuesday, October 13, 2026.

Reuters said its review covered officials who held elected or appointed government posts or worked in civilian or uniformed public service. Of the 85 people identified, 36 had been elected as Republicans and 19 were Republicans appointed to office. Nine others had campaigned for Trump or publicly supported his political agenda. Four were known Democrats, while Reuters could not determine the affiliation of 17 recipients.

The findings are an analysis of public clemency records rather than a new legal judgment. The Constitution gives presidents broad authority to pardon federal offenses or commute federal sentences. The Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney publishes the administration's clemency grants, which provide a primary record of the names, dates and offenses involved.

Reuters calculated that nearly three-quarters of the officials in its review left prison early, avoided a trial or sentencing, or regained rights restricted by a conviction. Collectively, the recipients were spared 130 years of incarceration and more than $15 million in financial penalties, the news organization reported. More than half later remained active in politics as officeholders or outspoken Trump supporters.

One case examined was that of Michele Fiore, a Nevada justice of the peace and former Republican lawmaker. A federal jury convicted Fiore in October 2024 of diverting donations intended for a memorial to a slain police officer. Trump issued a full pardon before she was sentenced. Fiore told Reuters she had not taken donations for personal use and criticized the prosecution. The White House said at the time that she had been targeted because of her conservative views.

The review also included former Connecticut governor John Rowland, a Republican with two federal convictions, and former Tennessee House speaker Glen Casada and aide Cade Cothren, who were convicted in a bribery and kickback case. Trump pardoned Casada and Cothren in November 2025. Their lawyers disputed criticism of the pardons, and the White House described the prosecution as excessive.

Trump has also granted clemency to Democrats. He pardoned former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich and, in December 2025, Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and Cuellar's wife. The Cuellars had been awaiting trial on bribery charges and had denied wrongdoing. A pardon ends federal criminal exposure for the covered conduct but does not establish that the recipient was factually innocent.

Legal experts interviewed by Reuters argued that repeatedly pardoning officials convicted of abusing public office could weaken deterrence and public trust. The administration rejected the implication that clemency licenses misconduct. Justice Department spokesperson Audrey Cook said the department remains committed to prosecuting public corruption when supported by facts and law, and said presidential pardons do not change the law.

White House spokesperson Lauren Bis defended Trump's approach, saying he had extended clemency to people the administration considers victims of politically motivated prosecutions under former President Joe Biden. Trump has repeatedly said federal law enforcement was weaponized against him and his allies. Those assertions remain politically contested, and each underlying case has its own evidentiary and procedural history.

Reuters said its count excluded at least 18 military personnel, police officers and government employees among those charged or convicted in connection with the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump issued broad clemency for roughly 1,500 defendants in those cases when he returned to office in January 2025. The exclusion means the new tally is focused on public officials in corruption-related matters, not every government employee who has received clemency.

The investigation adds a quantitative measure to the debate over Trump's use of a power that is constitutionally expansive but politically accountable. The partisan breakdown does not by itself prove why any individual pardon was issued. It does show that Republicans and Trump-aligned figures account for most recipients whose affiliation Reuters could identify.

Sources and image credit

Investigation, methodology, responses and case details: Reuters

Primary record of clemency grants during Trump's current term: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney

Image: The Trump White House via Wikimedia Commons (public domain; Trump displays a clemency proclamation on January 20, 2025; cropped to 16:9).