{ "checkedAt": "2026-09-26", "scope": "Selected, individually sourced cases and financial connections. This is not a completed background check of every clemency recipient. Case dates identify the latest documented event cited here, not a live docket check. Donations are selected transactions, not lifetime totals or proof of an exchange for clemency.", "cases": [ { "id": "andrew-paul-johnson", "directoryId": "andrew-paul-johnson-jan6", "name": "Andrew Paul Johnson", "status": "convicted", "statusLabel": "Convicted; sentenced to life", "categories": ["sexual", "minors"], "offense": "Child molestation and related offenses", "jurisdiction": "Hernando County, Florida", "eventDate": "2026-03-05", "eventLabel": "Sentencing", "account": "Associated Press reported that Johnson received a life sentence on March 5, 2026, after a Florida jury convicted him of child molestation and related offenses. His January 6 pardon did not cover those state crimes.", "clemencyDate": "2025-01-20", "clemencyLabel": "January 6 pardon", "chronology": "The sentence came after clemency. That sequence alone does not establish when every act of abuse occurred.", "sources": [ {"label": "Associated Press: conviction, sentence and pardon", "href": "https://www.ksat.com/news/politics/2026/03/05/capitol-rioter-who-was-pardoned-by-trump-gets-a-life-sentence-for-molesting-2-children-in-florida/"}, {"label": "DOJ: January 6 pardon certificates", "href": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/freedom-information-act-foia-release-pardon-certificate-recipients"} ] }, { "id": "andrew-quentin-taake", "directoryId": "andrew-quentin-taake-jan6", "name": "Andrew Quentin Taake", "status": "convicted", "statusLabel": "Guilty plea; three-year sentence", "categories": ["sexual", "minors"], "offense": "Online solicitation of a minor", "jurisdiction": "Harris County, Texas", "eventDate": "2025-09-30", "eventLabel": "Plea and sentence", "account": "The Houston Chronicle reported that Taake pleaded guilty on September 30, 2025, in a solicitation case dating to 2016. He received a three-year sentence, with jail credit that meant no additional prison time. The case involved an undercover officer posing as a minor, not an identified child victim.", "clemencyDate": "2025-01-20", "clemencyLabel": "January 6 pardon", "chronology": "The solicitation case predated his pardon. The pardon covered his Capitol case, not this Texas offense.", "sources": [ {"label": "Houston Chronicle: guilty plea and sentence", "href": "https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/crime/article/andrew-taake-plea-deal-online-solicitation-21075679.php"}, {"label": "The Daily Beast: undercover investigation and jail credit", "href": "https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-jan-6-pardons-keep-child-sex-predator-out-of-prison/"}, {"label": "DOJ: January 6 pardon certificates", "href": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/freedom-information-act-foia-release-pardon-certificate-recipients"} ] }, { "id": "kyle-travis-colton", "directoryId": null, "name": "Kyle Travis Colton", "status": "convicted", "statusLabel": "Convicted; six years and eight months", "categories": ["sexual", "minors"], "offense": "Receiving child sexual abuse material", "jurisdiction": "U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California", "eventDate": "2025-12-08", "eventLabel": "Sentencing", "account": "DOJ announced that Colton was sentenced to 80 months in prison for receiving child sexual abuse material. Prosecutors' trial brief says his January 6 case was dismissed under Trump's order before sentencing, but the court rejected his attempt to use that pardon to dismiss the separate abuse-material case.", "clemencyDate": "2025-01-20", "clemencyLabel": "January 6 order; Capitol case dismissed", "chronology": "DOJ dates the downloading to July 2022 through December 2023, before the January 2025 order. The later conviction was not for conduct newly committed after clemency.", "sources": [ {"label": "DOJ: December 8, 2025 sentencing announcement", "href": "https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/sacramento-county-man-sentenced-over-6-years-prison-receiving-child-sex-abuse-material"}, {"label": "Prosecutors' July 3, 2025 trial brief, page 2 (PDF mirror)", "href": "https://goppredators.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kyle-travis-colton-trial.pdf"} ] }, { "id": "daniel-tocci", "directoryId": null, "name": "Daniel Tocci", "status": "convicted", "statusLabel": "Guilty plea; four-year sentence", "categories": ["sexual", "minors"], "offense": "Possession of child sexual abuse material", "jurisdiction": "U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts", "eventDate": "2026-03-30", "eventLabel": "DOJ sentencing announcement", "account": "DOJ reported a four-year prison sentence and five years of supervised release following Tocci's September 2025 guilty plea. Investigators found the material in November 2023. NBC News reported that he had received January 6 clemency; the separate possession prosecution continued.", "clemencyDate": "2025-01-20", "clemencyLabel": "January 6 clemency; separate case continued", "chronology": "The evidence was discovered before clemency. DOJ announced the sentence on March 30, 2026, after the court had imposed it.", "sources": [ {"label": "DOJ: plea, sentence and investigation dates", "href": "https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/amherst-man-sentenced-four-years-prison-possessing-enormous-child-pornography-collection"}, {"label": "NBC News: January 6 clemency and separate prosecution", "href": "https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/jan-6-rioter-pardoned-gets-sentenced-possessing-child-pornography/4060830/"} ] }, { "id": "john-emanuel-banuelos", "directoryId": "john-emanuel-banuelos-jan6", "name": "John Emanuel Banuelos", "status": "charged", "statusLabel": "Charged; later disposition unverified", "categories": ["sexual", "violence"], "offense": "Aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping charges", "jurisdiction": "Utah Third Judicial District, case 251912416", "eventDate": "2026-07-06", "eventLabel": "Scheduled pretrial conference", "account": "A public court calendar lists these charges and a July 6, 2026 pretrial conference. It is not a judgment. A later disposition has not been verified for this review; Banuelos is not counted among the convicted people.", "clemencyDate": "2025-01-20", "clemencyLabel": "January 6 order; Capitol case dismissed", "chronology": "CBS reported that his Capitol case was dismissed in January 2025. The Utah calendar lists alleged conduct from 2018.", "sources": [ {"label": "Public court calendar: charges and scheduled hearing", "href": "https://cms.justicecalendar.com/sldist/detail/8122350"}, {"label": "CBS News: Capitol case dismissal", "href": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/high-profile-us-capitol-riot-defendant-facing-charges-of-kidnapping-and-sexually-assaulting-woman/"} ] } ], "donations": [ { "id": "trevor-milton", "directoryId": "trevor-milton-2025-03-27-pardon", "name": "Trevor Milton", "relationship": "direct", "donor": "Trevor Milton", "relationshipDetail": "The clemency recipient himself", "clemencyDate": "2025-03-27", "clemencyType": "Pardon", "caseStatus": "Convicted of securities and wire fraud", "transactions": [ {"amount": 920000, "date": "2024-10-10", "committee": "Trump 47 Committee", "committeeType": "Joint fundraising committee"} ], "account": "FOX 13's Ben Winslow reported Milton's $920,000 contribution during the 2024 campaign. The Nikola founder received a pardon after his fraud conviction. Milton told FOX 13 that his donations had nothing to do with his pardon.", "qualification": "CBS reported the White House said his donations 'played absolutely no role' in the pardon. Timing alone does not establish an exchange.", "sources": [ {"label": "FOX 13: donation records and timing", "href": "https://www.fox13now.com/this-pardoned-utah-billionaire-has-a-history-of-making-political-donations-while-facing-criminal-accusations"}, {"label": "DOJ: signed pardon warrant", "href": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/media/1395001/dl?inline"}, {"label": "CBS News: White House response", "href": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pardon-recipients-democrats-congressional-investigation-pay-to-play/"} ] }, { "id": "paul-walczak", "directoryId": "paul-walczak-2025-04-23-pardon", "name": "Paul Walczak", "relationship": "family", "donor": "Elizabeth Fago", "relationshipDetail": "Walczak's mother, not Walczak himself", "clemencyDate": "2025-04-23", "clemencyType": "Pardon", "caseStatus": "Pleaded guilty to employment-tax crimes", "transactions": [ {"amount": 1000000, "date": "2025-04-03", "committee": "MAGA Inc.", "committeeType": "Pro-Trump super PAC"} ], "account": "The New Yorker reported that MAGA Inc. recorded Fago's $1 million check on April 3, 2025. Trump signed her son's pardon on April 23, twenty days later. Walczak had been sentenced to 18 months in prison for employment-tax crimes.", "qualification": "The Daily Beast reported that a White House official attributed the pardon to his mother's plea, not her donation. The payment was to a political committee, not a documented personal payment to Trump.", "sources": [ {"label": "The New Yorker: Fago's donation and pardon request", "href": "https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/04/donald-trumps-pardon-economy"}, {"label": "DOJ: signed April 23 pardon", "href": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/media/1397931/dl?inline"}, {"label": "DOJ: Walczak's conviction and sentence", "href": "https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/owner-florida-healthcare-companies-sentenced-employment-tax-crimes"}, {"label": "The Daily Beast: White House response", "href": "https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-pac-filing-reveals-pay-for-access-scheme/"} ] }, { "id": "julio-herrera-velutini", "directoryId": "julio-m-herrera-velutini-2026-01-15-pardon", "name": "Julio M. Herrera Velutini", "relationship": "family", "donor": "Isabela Herrera", "relationshipDetail": "His daughter, the contributor named in the filings", "clemencyDate": "2026-01-15", "clemencyType": "Pardon", "caseStatus": "Pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor foreign-national contribution offense", "transactions": [ {"amount": 2500000, "date": "2024-12-31", "committee": "MAGA Inc.", "committeeType": "Pro-Trump super PAC"}, {"amount": 1000000, "date": "2025-07-22", "committee": "MAGA Inc.", "committeeType": "Pro-Trump super PAC"} ], "account": "Campaign Legal Center's February 17, 2026 FEC complaint cites two reported contributions under Isabela Herrera's name, totaling $3.5 million. Both preceded her father's January 15 pardon. The complaint links the donations to published FEC filings.", "qualification": "CLC alleges that her father supplied the money through a straw-donor arrangement. That is a complaint by an advocacy organization, not an FEC finding or a proven purchase of a pardon. The listed donor remains Isabela Herrera.", "sources": [ {"label": "Campaign Legal Center: complaint, dates and cited FEC filings (PDF)", "href": "https://campaignlegal.org/sites/default/files/2026-02/Herrera%20Complaint%20(Final).pdf"}, {"label": "DOJ: signed pardon warrant", "href": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/media/1424211/dl?inline"} ] }, { "id": "charles-kushner", "directoryId": "charles-kushner-2020-12-23-pardon", "name": "Charles Kushner", "relationship": "direct", "donor": "Charles Kushner", "relationshipDetail": "The clemency recipient; father of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner", "clemencyDate": "2020-12-23", "clemencyType": "Pardon", "caseStatus": "Convicted of tax offenses, witness retaliation and false statements to the FEC", "transactions": [ {"amount": 1000000, "date": "2023-06-05", "committee": "MAGA Inc.", "committeeType": "Pro-Trump super PAC"} ], "account": "Public Citizen's donation table lists a $1 million contribution from Kushner to MAGA Inc. on June 5, 2023. Trump had pardoned him in December 2020. Kushner also had a direct family connection to the president through his son Jared.", "qualification": "This donation came after the pardon. It cannot be described as a payment made before clemency, and its existence does not establish a reward agreement.", "sources": [ {"label": "Public Citizen: dated contribution table", "href": "https://www.citizen.org/article/trump-billionaire-boys-club/"}, {"label": "DOJ: December 23, 2020 pardon warrant", "href": "https://www.justice.gov/media/1112541/dl?inline"}, {"label": "DOJ: first-term pardon roster and covered offenses", "href": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/pardons-granted-president-donald-j-trump-2017-2021"} ] }, { "id": "imaad-shah-zuberi", "directoryId": "imaad-shah-zuberi-2025-05-28-commutation", "name": "Imaad Shah Zuberi", "relationship": "company", "donor": "Avenue Ventures", "relationshipDetail": "Zuberi contributed through his own company", "clemencyDate": "2025-05-28", "clemencyType": "Commutation", "caseStatus": "Convicted of foreign-agent filing, tax, campaign-finance and obstruction crimes", "transactions": [ {"amount": 900000, "date": "2016", "committee": "Trump's 2017 Presidential Inaugural Committee", "committeeType": "Inaugural committee, not a campaign"} ], "account": "DOJ's sentencing announcement describes a $900,000 contribution through Avenue Ventures in late 2016 and Zuberi's obstruction of the investigation into it. His 12-year sentence was commuted in May 2025; DOJ lists an amended warrant dated October 1, 2025.", "qualification": "This was sentence relief, not a full pardon. The company contribution is not presented as exclusively Zuberi's personal money or as a payment for clemency.", "sources": [ {"label": "DOJ: donation, obstruction and sentencing account", "href": "https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/political-donor-sentenced-12-years-prison-lobbying-and-campaign-contribution-crimes-tax"}, {"label": "DOJ: original commutation warrant", "href": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/media/1402011/dl?inline"}, {"label": "DOJ: amended commutation warrant", "href": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/media/1415926/dl?inline"}, {"label": "Campaign Legal Center: inaugural donation and clemency (PDF)", "href": "https://campaignlegal.org/sites/default/files/2026-02/Trump_Transaction_Tracker_February_2026.pdf"} ] }, { "id": "timothy-joseph-leiweke", "directoryId": "timothy-joseph-leiweke-2025-12-02-pardon", "name": "Timothy Joseph Leiweke", "relationship": "company", "donor": "Oak View Group", "relationshipDetail": "The company he co-founded and led, not a personal donation", "clemencyDate": "2025-12-02", "clemencyType": "Pardon", "caseStatus": "Charged with bid rigging; pardoned before trial, not convicted", "transactions": [ {"amount": 250000, "date": "2025-01", "committee": "Trump's 2025 inaugural fund", "committeeType": "Inaugural committee, not a campaign"} ], "account": "Campaign Legal Center reports that Oak View Group gave $250,000 to Trump's inaugural fund in January 2025. Leiweke was later charged in a bid-rigging case and received a pardon before trial on December 2, 2025.", "qualification": "The contributor was the company. This entry does not establish that Leiweke personally supplied the money, and the indictment is not a conviction.", "sources": [ {"label": "Campaign Legal Center: company donation and case history", "href": "https://campaignlegal.org/update/inside-pardon-playbook-analysis-president-trumps-clemency-abuses"}, {"label": "Campaign Legal Center: January 2025 donation date (PDF, page 19)", "href": "https://campaignlegal.org/sites/default/files/2026-05/Trump_Corruption_Tracker_May_2026_Update.pdf"}, {"label": "DOJ: second-term clemency roster", "href": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present"} ] } ] }