President Donald Trump signed pardons on Friday for six people convicted of Clean Air Act violations, characterizing them as victims of what he called persecution by the Biden Administration for “fixing their car.” Trump announced the action on Truth Social, stating he was “setting them all free” and arguing the individuals had been wrongly targeted by a weaponized Justice Department.
The six pardoned individuals had been convicted of violating federal emissions laws, specifically related to “defeat devices”—software designed to bypass or disable pollution control systems in vehicles. The Clean Air Act prohibits the manufacturing, selling, and installation of such devices, which allow vehicles to emit significantly higher levels of pollutants than permitted by law.
Trump’s pardons follow a reversal of criminal enforcement policy by the Justice Department earlier this year. In January 2026, the DOJ announced it would no longer pursue criminal charges under the Clean Air Act for tampering with vehicle emissions controls, though civil penalties remain possible. Federal prosecutors were ordered to drop all pending cases related to defeat devices, effectively ending criminal prosecutions that had been brought under the previous administration.
The pardon decision came after Trump met with senior White House officials on Friday to discuss the slate of new clemency actions. A senior White House official told CNN the pardons relate to people convicted of violating the Clean Air Act, though Trump did not publicly identify the six individuals or provide specific details about their convictions.
The move reflects Trump’s broader environmental deregulation agenda. In February 2026, his administration announced the single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history, repealing the scientific endangerment finding that had been the central basis for federal climate action and greenhouse gas regulation. The administration has also granted more than 180 polluting facilities nationwide a two-year reprieve from Clean Air Act compliance requirements.
Trump’s clemency process is managed by a small group of senior advisers, including White House special counsel David Warrington, chief of staff Susie Wiles, and U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin. Warrington and Martin initially consider cases in coordination with the Justice Department, passing their selections to Wiles for review before presenting them to Trump for final approval. The president has wielded pardoning power with historic frequency since taking office, granting clemency to more than 1,700 individuals during his second term.
Sources
- CNN — Trump’s announcement of six Clean Air Act pardons, his characterization of the individuals as persecuted, and details of the White House clemency process
- E&E News by POLITICO — DOJ’s January 2026 reversal ending criminal prosecutions of defeat device cases
- CBS News — DOJ’s decision to drop all pending criminal cases targeting defeat devices and civil penalty framework
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Definition and regulation of defeat devices under the Clean Air Act
- ProPublica — Trump administration’s exemptions of 180+ polluting facilities from Clean Air Act compliance
