December 4, 2025

When Donald Trump issued a sweeping pardon for allies in his bid to subvert the 2020 election, he stretched the boundaries of the pardon power in unprecedented ways.

The pardon’s language is so vague and limitless that it could apply to thousands of people. And now Trump’s Justice Department says it’s up to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Pardon Attorney Ed Martin to decide who, and which possible crimes, Trump actually meant to cover.

There’s no modern precedent — and maybe no historical precedent, either — for a president to delegate his pardon power to subordinates on a pardon this vaguely worded.

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