A CBS News review found that pardons issued in Trump’s second term wiped out more than $119 million in court-ordered restitution owed to crime victims
Pardon recipients included former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland and a Hartford real estate developer convicted of mortgage fraud
A separate Campaign Legal Center analysis found that Trump’s pardons often benefited donors, political allies and people convicted of fraud or public corruption
A CBS News analysis of pardons of the Trump regime issued to members of the public in the President’s second term, which include former Connecticut governor John Rowland and a Hartford real estate developer who committed millions in mortgage fraud, found the pardons erased more than $119 million in court-ordered restitution owed to victims.
A review of 160 pardons issued by the Trump regime from January 2025 to October 2026, not counting the more than 1,500 people pardoned of crimes related to the January 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol, found that those receiving pardons no longer have to pay more than $119 million in restitution meant to support their victims, according to CBS News.
The review also did not count restitution that courts had not formally ordered, such as the more than $600 million sought from Trevor Milton, the former CEO of electric vehicle company Nikola, CBS News noted.
This comes under analysis that Trump’s pardons often support his donors and political allies, benefit individuals who committed public corruption or fraud and can be arranged in exchange for payment, according to the Campaign Legal Center. Individuals receiving pardons in the last two years have been found to directly donate to Trump campaigns or provide money to people or organizations with close ties to the presidency.
At least 18 people who received pardons from the White House had ties to the White House, CBS News confirmed. More than nine of every 10 pardons issued by the Trump regime, including January 6 cases, bypassed the Department of Justice’s traditional pardon process, according to CBS News.
In one case, the pardon of Andres and Adriana Camberos, who were convicted of fraud in buying food in Mexico to resell in the United States, wiped away nearly $50 million in restitution owed to 19 companies ranging from major corporations to small businesses, CBS News reported.
Reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, formerly of “Chrisley Knows Best,” saw their requirement to repay banks $17 million erased when they received pardons. A nursing home executive who paid nearly $1 million to a law firm that helped seek pardons was able to reclaim $5 million he had previously paid to the IRS. That executive had charged workers for health insurance but kept the money instead of paying for their coverage, according to CBS News.
Beyond the restitution owed to victims, more than $100 million in court-ordered fines that would have gone to a federal fund supporting crime victims also vanished when Trump issued the pardons, CBS News reported.
By Joe O’Leary
