Trump granted clemency to 85 officials charged with corruption
Most recipients were Republicans or MAGA supporters, a Reuters investigation found.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Air Force One at Shannon Airport, on Sept. 13, in Shannon, Ireland.AP
Photograph: Daily Kos (embedded from source)
What this story says
- President Donald Trump granted clemency to at least 85 public officials charged with or convicted of corruption-related crimes.
- The majority of recipients were Republicans or supporters of Trump's MAGA movement, with only four known Democrats receiving clemency.
- These actions spared recipients over 130 years of imprisonment and more than $15 million in fines.
- Former prosecutors expressed concern that such pardons could weaken deterrence and accountability for public officials.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 7 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
70/100
Craft
65/100
Hype
45/100
7 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
President Donald Trump has granted clemency to at least 85 public officials who were charged with or convicted of corruption-related crimes. A Reuters investigation found that the vast majority of these recipients were Republicans or vocal proponents of Trump's MAGA movement. Among the recipients were 36 elected Republicans and 19 Republican political appointees. Only four clemency recipients were known Democrats.
These clemency actions collectively spared recipients more than 130 years of imprisonment and over $15 million in fines, restitution, and other financial penalties. Nearly three-quarters of recipients avoided prison, left custody early, escaped sentencing, or regained rights restricted by their convictions. The White House stated that Trump has used his clemency authority to correct what it describes as politically motivated prosecutions.
Disagreement on specific recipients
News Facts Network reported that former Nevada official Michele Fiore, convicted of charity fraud, was pardoned by Trump. They also reported that Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar was pardoned. The Egyptian Gazette digest mentioned Michele Fiore's conviction for charity fraud, stating she spent nearly $80,000 of solicited donations on personal expenses.
What the coverage left out
No right-rated outlet ran this story. The digests from The Independent and The Independent (US) mentioned that in nearly 2,000 acts of clemency, Trump has forgone the longstanding practice of presidents working with the DOJ to evaluate who should merit clemency. This detail was not present in the digests from Daily Kos, News Facts Network, Egyptian Gazette, IBTimes UK, or Reuters.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 13 Oct 2026, 23:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Recipients of Trump pardons were spared 130 years in prison and more than $15 million in penalties, a new analysis found (Getty Images)
The Independent (US) — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports highlighted that the vast majority of public officials receiving clemency from President Trump were Republicans or aligned with his MAGA movement. Daily Kos reported that Trump granted clemency to 36 elected Republicans and 19 Republican political appointees, with only four Democrats among the recipients. This was framed as contributing to a culture of corruption and lawlessness. Daily Kos quoted retired assistant U.S. attorney Phillip Halpern, who stated that Trump is encouraging corruption and trying to end accountability for public officials. The Independent and The Independent (US) digests also noted that Republicans received most of the mercy in Trump's pardons for public officials. IBTimes UK's digest stated that Trump pardoned at least 85 officials tied to corruption cases, with MAGA allies reaping most of the mercy.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports focused on the number of officials receiving clemency and the political leanings of the recipients. News Facts Network reported that President Trump granted clemency to at least 85 public officials charged with or convicted of corruption-related crimes, with Republicans and prominent Trump supporters receiving most of the relief. They noted that these actions spared recipients more than 130 years of imprisonment and over $15 million in fines. Reuters' digest also stated that Trump has pardoned scores of US public officials charged with or convicted of crimes related to corruption, with his clemency skewing right and the vast majority of recipients being Republicans or vocal proponents of his MAGA movement.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Trump granted clemency to 85 officials charged with corruption?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 67% are rated left, 33% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 7. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Trump granted clemency to 85 officials charged with corruption left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Trump granted clemency to 85 officials charged with corruption biased?
- Trump granted clemency to 85 officials charged with corruption is one event reported by 7 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Trump granted clemency to 85 officials charged with corruption?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Trump granted clemency to 85 officials charged with corruption?
- 7 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How many public officials did Donald Trump grant clemency to?
- President Donald Trump granted clemency to at least 85 public officials who were charged with or convicted of corruption-related crimes, according to a Reuters investigation.
- What was the political affiliation of most clemency recipients?
- The vast majority of recipients were Republicans or vocal proponents of Trump's MAGA movement. Among them were 36 elected Republicans and 19 Republican political appointees. Only four known Democrats received clemency.
- What was the financial impact of these clemency actions?
- Collectively, the clemency actions spared recipients more than 130 years of imprisonment and over $15 million in fines, restitution, and other financial penalties. Nearly three-quarters of recipients avoided prison or regained restricted rights.
- What concerns have been raised about these pardons?
- Former prosecutors interviewed by Reuters expressed concern that repeated pardons in corruption cases could weaken deterrence and accountability for public officials. Some reports also noted that the administration reduced federal anti-corruption enforcement resources while issuing these grants.
Read it at the source
7 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- Trump goes wild offering clemency for GOP allies (opens Daily Kos in a new tab)
- Republicans win most of the mercy in Trump’s pardons for public officials (opens The Independent (US) in a new tab)
The Independent (US) — is The Independent (US) biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Republicans win most of the mercy in Trump’s pardons for public officials (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Pardons at Least 85 Officials Tied to Corruption Cases With MAGA Allies Reaping Most of the Mercy (opens IBTimes UK in a new tab)
IBTimes UK — is IBTimes UK biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
2Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
1How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
