Getty ImagesUS President Donald Trump has pardoned his former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and several allies who stood accused of trying to sway the outcome of the 2020 election.
He also pardoned his former White House chief, Mark Meadows, in a proclamation promising to “end a grave injustice”.
Others who benefited from the goodness were the many so-called false electors, who were accused of trying to hijack the process to confirm Joe Biden, a Democrat, as the winner of the election five years ago.
Trump’s move is largely symbolic, as pardons only apply to federal crimes and all recipients are prosecuted only by state-level prosecutors.
Ed Martin, a criminal justice lawyer, posted a “full, complete and unconditional” apology to X.
The apologies, said the text of the proclamation, will continue “the process of national reconciliation”.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to the BBC:
This round of cleency has not been used to trump himself – denying any wrongdoing – although the President has long maintained that he has the power to pardon himself. But any such statement by him will face legal challenges.
Giuliani declared bankruptcy two years ago after being found liable for $148m (£112m) for defrauding election workers in Georgia. He moved as a lawyer in Washington DC and New York.
Getty ImagesFormer Trump Ahsyers Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, John Edelmman and Kenneth Chesebro, who filed unsuccessful lawsuits challenging the 2020 vote outcome, were also pardoned.
Powell said after the election that the electronic voting systems that transferred millions of votes to Biden and that the Democrat claimed to be supporting the Communist team spread the foot of Mr. Trumpeta himself from him.
On the day he returned to office this year, the Republican president pardoned hundreds of his supporters accused of participating in the Ri Ri Ri Ri Ri Ri Ri Ri Ri Ri Ri Ri Ri Riot in the US 2021.
Trump himself was indicted on charges of plotting to sabotage his 2020 loss, but that case brought by Biden’s justice department was reinstated after Trump was re-elected.
Several other election-related lawsuits against Trump allies in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Michigan and Wisconsin have stalled or collapsed.
Last September, a judge in Michigan dismissed the amnesty and indictment against 15 Republicans who supported Trump’s claims that he had won the 2020 vote.
The electors are part of the 538-member electoral college that officially chooses the president, based on the state’s results in the general election.