Pardons & Commutations

Convicted in June 2023 of acting as an illegal foreign agent, interstate stalking, and conspiracy. The case centred on Xu Jin, a former Chinese city official who had relocated to New Jersey in 2010. Between 2016 and 2019, McMahon was hired by Chinese co-defendants to locate and surveil Xu Jin and his family as part of a pressure campaign to force their return to China — part of Beijing's broader "Operation Fox Hunt" initiative, which US prosecutors have described as a programme of transnational repression.

Sunseri, a 27-year-old competitive ultrarunner from Driggs, Idaho, was convicted of violating National Park Service regulations in Grand Teton National Park. On September 2, 2024, he climbed and descended the 13,775-foot Grand Teton in 2 hours and 50 minutes — beating the previous fastest known time by nearly three minutes. In doing so, he briefly left the designated Garnet Canyon Trail to take a shortcut via the Old Climber's Trail, a route that the park's Superintendent had restricted in the 2024 Compendium of Designations, Closures, Permit Requirements and Other Restrictions. The restriction was intended to protect fragile alpine terrain. Federal prosecutors in the District of Wyoming charged Sunseri under 36 C.F.R. § 1.3, which makes it a criminal offense to violate a Superintendent's Compendium order. He was found guilty at trial in 2025 and faced a fine of up to $5,000 or six months in jail, though sentencing had not yet occurred when Trump pardoned him on November 7, 2025.

Gaulden, known professionally as NBA YoungBoy, is a rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana who was already a convicted felon when he was found to be in possession of multiple firearms. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) prohibits convicted felons from possessing firearms or ammunition. Prosecutors alleged he possessed a Glock 21 .45-caliber pistol and a Masterpiece Arms MPA30T 9mm handgun while filming a rap video in Baton Rouge, and a Sig Sauer 9mm semi-automatic pistol at his home in Huntsville, Utah. His plea agreement resolved both Utah state charges and two separate sets of federal charges against him. The case resulting in the 23-month sentence was prosecuted in the District of Utah. Gaulden was released from federal prison in March 2025 after receiving credit for time served and placed on home confinement. The pardon, granted May 28, 2025, erased the conviction and freed him from the remaining probation terms, including substance testing requirements.

Bashaw was a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army serving as an entomologist at the Army Public Health Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. In 2022, he was tried by court-martial and convicted on two counts of violating lawful orders under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for refusing to comply with Army COVID-19 prevention protocols — specifically refusing to telework as directed, submit a negative COVID-19 test, and wear a mask indoors. He was the first known member of the U.S. military to be convicted by court-martial for disobeying coronavirus prevention directives. The presiding military judge declined to impose any punishment, but Bashaw was discharged from the military in 2023 following the sentencing. The conviction nonetheless left him with a criminal record, which the pardon erased.

Smith was an Army Reserve sergeant stationed at Army Reserve centers in Tennessee. Between 2003 and 2007, he and two fellow Reserve sergeants — Harold Grady and Gregory Murray — discovered they could exploit a federal surplus property program that allowed government agencies to request excess equipment from other federal agencies for official use. The program required that all requested equipment remain government property and be used solely for official federal purposes. Smith's role was the most extensive of the three. He filed phony letters on official Army letterhead and fabricated supporting documentation falsely stating that the computers and equipment he requested would be sent to soldiers in Iraq in support of "Operation Enduring Freedom." Using this cover, he obtained computers and other equipment from multiple federal agencies — including the Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. Air Force, NASA, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the U.S. Army — then sold the stolen equipment to computer stores in Georgia and Tennessee. Grady and Murray participated on a smaller scale, obtaining equipment solely from the CDC and reselling it through private sales, newspaper listings, and eBay. All three pleaded guilty to theft of government property (18 U.S.C. § 641) and were sentenced on March 24, 2010, by U.S. District Judge Orinda D. Evans in the Northern District of Georgia. Smith received the heaviest sentence reflecting the scope and sophistication of his role.

James Kernan and his wife Marlene ran two insurance businesses in Oriskany, New York — Oriska Insurance Company and the Monument Agency. Between 2002 and 2005, they employed a three-time convicted felon at their companies. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 1033(e) prohibits anyone from knowingly permitting a person convicted of a felony involving dishonesty or breach of trust to participate in the business of insurance. The FBI raided the Oriska office on Utica Street in July 2006, initially investigating the companies on suspicion of also offering unauthorized workers' compensation insurance policies. Both Kernans were convicted in 2009 in the Northern District of New York for their roles in employing the felon. James, as the more culpable party, received the heavier sentence; Marlene was separately charged with permitting a convicted felon to engage in the business of insurance.

Moore, a diver, was out on the water approximately three miles off Jupiter Inlet, Florida, in August 2020 when he and crew member Tanner Mansell spotted a longline they believed to be an illegal fishing rig. The pair freed the sharks and a grouper caught on the line, reported the incident to state wildlife officials, and brought the line back to shore. The line turned out to belong to a researcher licensed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to catch sharks for scientific purposes. Federal prosecutors charged Moore and Mansell with theft of property within special maritime and territorial jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 661, covering theft of property belonging to another within federal maritime jurisdiction. Both were convicted in 2022. The felony convictions barred them from voting in Florida, owning firearms, and traveling freely outside the United States. Moore said he and his attorneys were surprised by the pardon, as they had not petitioned for one.

Marlene Kernan co-owned and operated Oriska Insurance Company and the Monument Agency in Oriskany, New York, alongside her husband James Kernan. Between 2002 and 2005, the companies employed a three-time convicted felon. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1033(e), it is a federal offense to knowingly permit a person convicted of a felony involving dishonesty or breach of trust to participate in the business of insurance. Marlene was charged with permitting the felon to engage in that business — a less culpable formulation than the "knowingly and willfully" charge brought against James, reflecting her lesser role in the scheme. Both were convicted in 2009 in the Northern District of New York following the FBI's July 2006 raid on the Oriska office.

Mansell was a crew member on the boat with John R. Moore Jr. approximately three miles off Jupiter Inlet, Florida, in August 2020 when the pair spotted a longline they believed to be an illegal fishing rig. The two freed the sharks and a grouper caught on it, reported the incident to state wildlife officials, and brought the line to shore. The line belonged to a NOAA-licensed researcher legally catching sharks for scientific purposes. Both men were charged with theft of property within special maritime and territorial jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 661 and convicted in 2022. The felony convictions barred them from voting in Florida, owning firearms, and traveling freely outside the United States.

Klos was convicted of possession of an unregistered firearm under 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d), a provision of the National Firearms Act (NFA). The NFA requires that certain categories of firearm — including machine guns, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, suppressors, and destructive devices — be registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record maintained by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Possessing such a weapon without a valid registration is a federal felony regardless of how the weapon was obtained. Specific details of the firearm involved and the circumstances of the offense are not available in accessible public records. The conviction occurred in the federal case United States v. Klos, No. 1:05-CR-54.

Baisden accumulated a series of misdemeanor convictions in D.C. Superior Court between 2005 and 2010 stemming from substance abuse issues he experienced in his teens and twenties, according to the White House. The convictions were: shoplifting (December 2005); a Bail Reform Act violation for failing to comply with conditions of release (February 2007); and two counts of second degree theft (March 2009 and September 2010). Although D.C. Superior Court is a local court rather than a federal court, the President holds pardon power over D.C. offenses under the constitutional arrangement governing the District of Columbia. At the time of the pardon, Baisden had been sober for nearly 14 years and was set to graduate from law school, but his criminal record risked preventing his admission to state bars.