{"id":5076,"date":"2026-07-04T20:09:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T20:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/07\/04\/trump-issues-11-pardons-on-eve-of-countrys-fourth-of-july-celebrations\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T20:09:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T20:09:56","slug":"trump-issues-11-pardons-on-eve-of-countrys-fourth-of-july-celebrations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=5076","title":{"rendered":"Trump issues 11 pardons on eve of country\u2019s Fourth of July celebrations"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"6d071b99-29f7-4510-b93d-3ffd987a2e8d\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Donald Trump on stage speaking into a microphone.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/f061cf0686485560574b845c14f05581d6e18079\/0_0_5500_3535\/master\/5500.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"298.8681818181818\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Donald Trump delivers remarks at Mount Rushmore in Keystone, South Dakota, on 3 July 2026.<\/span> Photograph: Kylie Cooper\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"6d071b99-29f7-4510-b93d-3ffd987a2e8d\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Donald Trump delivers remarks at Mount Rushmore in Keystone, South Dakota, on 3 July 2026.<\/span> Photograph: Kylie Cooper\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">Trump issues 11 pardons on eve of country\u2019s Fourth of July celebrations<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Pardons issued to nine people charged with violating Clean Air Act as extreme heat smothers much of US<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/donaldtrump\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Donald Trump<\/a> on Friday issued pardons to 11 men \u2013 two convicted fraudsters and nine charged with having violated the federal Clean Air Act by disabling or otherwise modifying trucks\u2019 emissions controls.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Those executive pardons \u2013 coming amid US semiquincentennial celebrations blanketed in extreme heat exacerbated by greenhouse gas emissions \u2013 were among a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/apr\/17\/trump-pardons-cost-shooting-survivors-millions\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">broader wave<\/a> of acts of clemency from Trump during his second presidency, chiefly for those he considers to be aligned with him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Among the pardon recipients was Adam Kidan, the president of a light industrial staffing company who had been sentenced to nearly six years in prison in 2006 in connection with the purchase of a fleet of gambling boats.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"ad2cd790-cbfc-4cbc-b112-3a28d320f3e0\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-1oq85qr\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-3 | 3\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1rx5ky9\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-15vltj4\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jul\/04\/trump-launches-americas-250th-birthday-celebrations-with-partisan-attack\" class=\"dcr-f35c0u\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-vvxpdt\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6z6e7\">\n<div class=\"dcr-zh9rih\">Trump launches America\u2019s 250th birthday celebrations with partisan attack<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-oj13vq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-ef9nua\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Kidan was a former business partner of Washington DC lobbyist Jack Abramoff. And the case that sent Kidan to prison was part of wider investigation into an early 2000s lobbying scandal centering on Abramoff, Capitol Hill, the US Department of the Interior and some members of George W Bush\u2019s presidential administration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsday.com\/long-island\/politics\/lipetri-mar-a-lago-ojbq67ym\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Newsday<\/a> reported in March that Kidan helped host a fundraiser at Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida for a Republican congressional candidate from New York\u2019s Long Island.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Meanwhile, another pardon recipient was Jack Harvard, who legal filings show was convicted of bank fraud charges in the 1980s. Trump cited Harvard\u2019s \u201cupstanding\u201d post-conviction record and his allowing troops from the US as well as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) to train on his ranch for free.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The other nine who were pardoned on Friday had been faced with Clean Air Act violations under the Biden administration between Trump\u2019s nonconsecutive White House terms. Citing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/trump-administration\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Trump administration<\/a> official, CBS News identified them as Ryan Lalone, Wade Lalone, Matt Geouge, Tim Clancy, Mac Spurlock, Joshua Davis, Barry Pierce and Aaron Rudolf.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Trump posted on his Truth Social platform about some of those nine, arguing that \u2013 as he saw it \u2013 they were \u201cin, or being sent to, prison for \u2018fixing their car\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cI AM SETTING THEM ALL FREE, RIGHT NOW!\u201d Trump added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The Clean Air Act-related pardons came within days of Trump having signed a memo to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asserting that people in the US could fix their vehicles however they wanted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Trump in signing that memo made reference to a diesel mechanic he pardoned in November, Troy Lake, who disabled emissions-monitoring systems.<\/p>\n<figure data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.NewsletterSignupBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-d9bay7\"><a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"#EmailSignup-skip-link-12\" class=\"dcr-76akua\">skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1tr4stg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-12qa5gp\">\n<hr class=\"dcr-1cjdlyj\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"EmailSignup-skip-link-12\" aria-label=\"after newsletter promotion\" role=\"note\" class=\"dcr-76akua\">after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The Trump administration in February separately repealed a scientific finding that greenhouse gas \u200cemissions endanger human health. And it eliminated federal tailpipe emissions standards \u200bfor cars and trucks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Blistering heat <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jul\/03\/heatwave-world-cup-250th-anniversary\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">gripping<\/a> much of the US during celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the nation\u2019s Declaration of Independence would have been \u201cvirtually impossible\u201d if not for the ongoing global climate crisis, according to Worldwide Weather Attribution researchers. Greenhouse gas emissions are primarily driving that crisis, scientists have found.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Meanwhile, organizers of an Independence Day parade planned for Saturday in Washington DC as part of Trump\u2019s Freedom 250 initiative abruptly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jul\/04\/washington-dc-fourth-of-july-parade-canceled-extreme-heat\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">canceled<\/a> the event late on the eve of the event, citing an extreme heat warning issued by the National Weather Service.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">And on Friday, Freedom 250\u2019s Great American State Fair on the National Mall temporarily closed down after reports that more than 40 visitors had been treated for heat-related illness. The heat also delayed the opening of the fair on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\"><em>The Associated Press and Reuters contributed reporting<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/donaldtrump\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-crime\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US crime<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-justice-system\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US justice system<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/trump-administration\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Trump administration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Trump%20issues%2011%20pardons%20on%20eve%20of%20country%E2%80%99s%20Fourth%20of%20July%20celebrations&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jul\/04\/trump-pardons-11-people-fourth-of-july?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fjul%2F04%2Ftrump-pardons-11-people-fourth-of-july&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/jul\/04\/trump-pardons-11-people-fourth-of-july\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-axwinp\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Donald Trump delivers remarks at Mount Rushmore in Keystone, South Dakota, on 3 July 2026. Photograph: Kylie Cooper\/Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5078,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}