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Trump issues sweeping pardons for 2020 election allies — what the move really means
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President Donald Trump issued pardons for more than 70 people accused of seeking to overturn the 2020 election results.
The move largely has been viewed as a symbolic gesture, as the presidential pardons only cover federal charges and those involved don’t have any federal charges leveled against them.
Among those pardoned were Trump allies like the president’s former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who peddled claims that the 2020 election was «stolen» from Trump and is embroiled in a case in Arizona where he faces state charges for election interference.
Although the pardons cannot extend to state charges like those Giuliani faces in Arizona, the pardons could pave the way for some to attempt to redeem their reputation, according to Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies.
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Olson said that while the pardon itself cannot reverse a disbarment, loss of license or loss of employment, the pardon could provide fuel for the pardon beneficiaries to pursue reconsideration of these consequences.
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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While proponents of the pardons claim that they restore justice, critics have blasted the pardons as an attempt to undermine democracy. (Adam Gray/AFP via Getty Images)
«That angle is less important if the passage of time has meant that prosecution would be barred anyway by relevant statutes of limitation, as is likely to be the case with many charges here,» Olson said.
While proponents of the pardons claim that they restore justice, critics have blasted the pardons as an attempt to undermine democracy.
«First, Trump pardoned the violent insurrectionists who beat cops. Now, he pardons the key instigators of January 6th,» Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said in a Monday social media post. «We need to see this for what it is: An attempt to erase history, so it can be repeated.»
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Meanwhile, Giuliani’s team claimed that he didn’t seek a pardon from Trump, but argued that the pardon is grounds for Giuliani to have his bar license restored.
«Mayor Rudy Giuliani stands by his work following the 2020 presidential election, when he responded to the legitimate concerns of thousands of everyday Americans,» Ted Goodman, a spokesperson for Giuliani, said in a Monday post on X.
«Mayor Giuliani never sought a pardon but is deeply grateful for President Trump’s decision,» Goodman said. «This action further highlights the years of unjust attacks against the mayor and so many others, and reinforces what should now be clear to everyone—Mayor Giuliani deserves to have his bar license immediately reinstated without delay.»
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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.
white house,donald trump,congress,adam schiff,2020 presidential election
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Científicos advierten sobre el impacto ambiental del deterioro acelerado del lago Tonle Sap, en Camboya
Una advertencia científica situó al lago Tonle Sap en el foco internacional, al confirmarse que la extracción de arena en el río Mekong altera el funcionamiento ecológico de la mayor reserva de agua dulce del sudeste asiático.
Un estudio publicado el 10 de noviembre de 2025 y dirigido por Newcastle University revela que la significativa reducción del flujo de agua hacia el lago amenaza la biodiversidad y los medios de vida de millones de personas que dependen de este ecosistema.
El informe, desarrollado en colaboración con Loughborough University, destaca que Tonle Sap es uno de los ecosistemas lacustres más diversos del planeta y la cuarta mayor fuente de pesca a nivel mundial. Reconocido como Reserva de la Biosfera por la UNESCO desde 1997, el lago alberga más de 800 especies, incluidas poblaciones de anfibios, reptiles, mamíferos y aves en peligro de extinción.
Su pulso anual de inundación, imprescindible para la productividad biológica y la regulación hídrica de la región, depende del flujo inverso del Mekong durante los monzones en una zona donde viven cerca de 23 millones de personas.
El estudio de Newcastle University advierte que la extracción de arena, junto a la construcción de presas que retienen sedimentos río arriba, provocó una disminución significativa en el volumen de agua que llega al lago durante la temporada de lluvias.
Entre 1998 y 2018, el descenso del lecho del Mekong, impulsado principalmente por la minería de arena y la alteración de la morfología del canal, redujo el flujo inverso hacia el Tonle Sap entre un 40% y un 50%.
Los investigadores señalan que este deterioro es consecuencia directa de la extracción de arena y la transformación física del cauce, y no únicamente de cambios en el clima o en los patrones de agua.
La presión que sufren tanto las especies acuáticas como las comunidades humanas pone de manifiesto la importancia social y ecológica del lago.
El Dr. Chris Hackney, profesor de Geografía Física en Newcastle University, explicó: “El lago es vital para los ecosistemas y las comunidades de Camboya. En los últimos años, las comunidades locales notaron que el lago ya no se llena como antes y los ecosistemas que dependen de largas temporadas de inundación están bajo una presión creciente. Si se quiere preservar el lago, es necesario mantener o aumentar los niveles del lecho del río Mekong”.
El análisis de los expertos, como el Dr. Quan Quan Le de Loughborough University, también subraya el papel del crecimiento urbano en la demanda global de arena para construcción, lo que multiplica la extracción en los ríos de la región.
La investigación confirma que esta extracción debilitó el pulso de inundación del lago, causando daños ambientales duraderos y resaltando la urgencia de una gestión sostenible de sedimentos.
Las proyecciones del estudio atribuido a Newcastle University resultan especialmente graves. Si la tendencia actual continúa, para 2038 el flujo inverso podría disminuir hasta un 69% respecto a los niveles de 1998. Esta reducción no solo afectaría la biodiversidad, sino que tendría efectos directos sobre la agricultura y la seguridad alimentaria en el delta del Mekong.
El estudio detalla que el reducido flujo durante la estación seca podría bajar en un 59%, lo que intensificaría la intrusión de agua salada y disminuiría los rendimientos agrícolas. Asimismo, el aumento del flujo hacia el delta durante el monzón, calculado en unos 26 km³, elevaría el riesgo de inundaciones en una de las regiones más densamente pobladas del sudeste asiático.
Frente a este escenario, los autores del estudio insisten en la necesidad urgente de implementar una gestión sostenible de los sedimentos y regular la extracción de arena para evitar daños irreversibles en el sistema Tonle Sap-Mekong.
Los expertos advierten que la salvaguarda del lago y la seguridad de las comunidades dependen de acciones inmediatas y coordinadas que antepongan la integridad ecológica del río y su cuenca.
Newcastle University alerta que la extracción excesiva de arena representa una amenaza existencial para la sostenibilidad del sistema Tonle Sap-Mekong. Los autores del estudio manifiestan su preocupación respecto al futuro de este ecosistema fundamental.
extracción de arena,lago Tonle Sap,crisis ambiental Camboya,inundaciones Tonle Sap,impacto ecológico sudeste asiático,biodiversidad Mekong
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Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., was sworn into office on Wednesday, unlocking the needed support to force the House of Representatives into a vote over the Epstein files.
Now having received the oath of office, Grijalva is free to become the 218th — and final signatory — to advance a discharge petition on a bill to instruct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release its documentation on Jeffrey Epstein. If successful, the petition would bring the bill to the floor over the objection of the chamber’s leadership.
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Rep. Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat from Arizona, speaks to members of the media at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Sept. 30, 2025. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Grijalva, who now fills the seat formerly held by her father, the late Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., said signing the petition would be her first act as a member of Congress.
«I will sign the discharge petition right now to release the Epstein files. It’s past time for Congress to restore its role as the check and balance on this administration and fight for we, the American people,» Grijalva said.
Epstein, a former businessman and financier, died in 2019 while jailed on federal sex-trafficking charges involving minors. During his career, he accrued an impressive social circle that included rich and powerful figures like former President Bill Clinton, President Donald Trump and the United Kingdom’s Prince Andrew.
His sudden death, ruled a suicide by investigators, left unanswered questions about whether he had used his expansive social circle to facilitate illegal sexual encounters for some of his contacts.
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Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were both indicted on federal sex trafficking charges stemming from Epstein’s years of abuse of underage girls. (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
After disappointing announcements from the DOJ that the investigation met a dead end earlier this year, lawmakers led by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., demanded Congress vote to force the DOJ to release its documentation on the matter.
Those demands went unheeded by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who said the DOJ was already conducting its own internal evaluation and complying with congressional requests for information.
For Massie and three other Republicans, that wasn’t good enough.
Massie joined Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., — and all House Democrats — in signing the petition, falling just one signatory short of putting it over the needed 218 threshold.
EPSTEIN VICTIMS PRESS LAWMAKERS TO SUPPORT BILL TO RELEASE HIDDEN FILES, SAY AMERICANS WILL BE ‘APPALLED’
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks with Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna during a news conference with alleged victims of the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein outside the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 3, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Two of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged victims joined lawmakers in the House chamber for Grijalva’s swearing in.
«Our democracy only works when everyone has a voice. This includes the millions of people across the country who have experienced violence and exploitation — including Liz Stein and Jessica Michaels, both survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse. They are here in the gallery here this evening,» Grijalva said.
Johnson has said he supports the measure in principle but believes aspects of it are poorly written or may provide insufficient protections for Epstein’s potential victims.
With Grijalva’s support, Democrat leadership believes the petition will come to the floor sometime in December.
Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the ranking member on the House Rules Committee, noted that Johnson might try to derail its timeline.
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«It should ripen in early December. That doesn’t mean that the speaker of the House [won’t] try to do some shenanigans, but if all goes the way we want it to go, early December,» McGovern said.
congress,democrats,jeffrey epstein
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