Trump’s pardons cost crime victims $1.3 billion: Democrats
House Judiciary Democrats are alleging that President Donald Trump’s extensive use of pardons,especially regarding those involved in the January 6 Capitol riot,has resulted in significant financial repercussions,effectively depriving crime victims of approximately $1.3 billion. A memo released by the Democrats claims that many of the pardoned individuals still owe significant restitution, fines, and forfeitures.It highlights that only a small percentage of the owed restitution has been paid to victims, despite damages incurred during the capitol attack being reported at around $3 million.
The memo specifically calls out cases where pardons were granted to individuals with considerable financial liabilities, suggesting that Trump’s pardons have favored his political allies by absolving them of their debts to victims and the government. While Democrats emphasize the importance of accountability and justice for victims, the White House has defended trump’s actions as a corrective measure against politically motivated prosecutions. As the Democrats aim to leverage this issue for electoral gains in the upcoming midterms, they see the financial implications of Trump’s pardons as a potential rallying point to connect with voters.
Democrats say Trump’s ‘pardon spree’ cheated crime victims out of $1.3 billion
House Judiciary Democrats are making the case that President Donald Trump’s more than 1,600 pardons could prove to be a major cost.
A memo Democrats released on Tuesday reports that the controversial, blanket pardons the president made at the beginning of his second term for Jan. 6 defendants, charged with taking part in the 2021 riot on the Capitol, could cost crime victims and taxpayers nearly $1.3 billion. A source familiar with the committee told the Washington Examiner that House Judiciary Republicans have not responded to the analysis.
“Whoever said crime doesn’t pay has certainly not studied the Trump administration,” House Judiciary Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said in a statement.
The findings outline the amount each of Trump’s pardon recipients owed in restitution, forfeiture, and fines.
“While prior presidents overwhelmingly reserved pardons for those who accepted responsibility for their crimes, made full restitution to their victims and paid all their legal fines, Trump uses pardons not only to shorten the sentences of his political friends but to wipe out the debt they owe to their victims and to our society,” Raskin said in the statement.
An estimated total of $3 million was cited in damages to the U.S. Capitol and for assaulting police officers, with only 15% in restitution having been paid to victims. The Jan. 6 pardons were a controversial move on both sides of the aisle after Trump issued the sweeping act of clemency on his first day in office.
The memo also singles out Paul Walczak, who allegedly withheld $10 million from his employees’ paychecks. He was sentenced to 18 months and to pay $4.4 million in restitution. The president granted him a full pardon after his mother donated $1 million at a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser.
The White House has stood its ground when defending these pardons, and this memo has not changed that messaging.
“The summer interns working for House Democrats must be busy writing and printing pointless letters that aren’t worth the paper they’re written on,” White House spokesman Harrison Fields told CNN. “President Trump is righting on the wrongs of political prosecutions and providing justice after careful consideration of thoroughly vetted cases presented to him.”
Raskin quickly quipped back on X.
“We’re glad we caught Trump’s attention with the astonishing $1.3 billion tab he’s handing to the victims of his pardoned friends and donors,” Raskin said in response to the White House. “And I’m indeed hard at work this summer with staff and interns defending the people against the rampant lawlessness of his gangster state.”
Democrats are eager to bring this issue to the forefront as the party has grappled with finding messaging that sticks following their big loss last November that resulted in a Republican trifecta in Washington.
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The party is pushing all the messaging they can in the House as part of an effort to flip the lower chamber in the 2026 midterms–the party’s best chance at breaking up GOP control in the nation’s capital.
Much of the party’s messaging over the last few months has consisted of talking about proposed Medicaid and SNAP cuts found in Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” and protesting the administration’s aggressive immigration policy across the country. As the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency has pushed cost-cutting measures, the fiscal cost of the pardons is a new approach Democrats hope will resonate with voters.
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