Trump pardons six people pursued for ‘fixing their car’
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US President Donald Trump has liberally used the power to wipe out convictions and end prison sentences since the first day of his second term.
PHOTO: PETE MAROVICH/NYTIMES
- President Trump pardoned six people accused of "fixing their car" without naming them or detailing their offences.
- He instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to explore making it safer legally for Americans to repair their own vehicles.
- Trump claimed the Biden administration "persecuted" those he pardoned and announced their release on his social media platform before Independence Day.
AI generated
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump pardoned six people who he said were sentenced or in prison for “fixing their car”, a day before the US celebrates 250 years of independence on July 4.
Trump did not identify the people or specify their offences. In a memorandum issued on June 29, Trump directed the Environmental Protection Agency to consider ways to make it legally less risky for people in the US to fix their own cars.
Trump has liberally used the power to wipe out convictions and end prison sentences since the first day of his second term, issuing more than 1,600 grants of clemency to date. This has inspired a wave of applications from former inmates and defendants jostling to get their cases in front of the right people at the White House.
Trump’s clemency grants have benefited allies, donors and loyalists, such as Republican politicians and white-collar defendants with impressive campaign donation records. People serving harsh sentences for drug crimes, one-time sports stars and the former president of Honduras have also been granted relief.
The bulk of Trump’s second-term grants of clemency went to more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the Jan 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol.
On the eve of national celebrations marking Independence Day, Trump said in a social media post that former president Joe Biden’s administration “persecuted” the people he pardoned on July 3, saying it was part of Biden’s alleged weaponisation of government.
“I AM SETTING THEM ALL FREE, RIGHT NOW!” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. BLOOMBERG
