Donald Trump on Friday issued pardons to 11 men – two convicted fraudsters and nine charged with violating the federal Clean Air Act by disabling or modifying trucks' emissions controls. The executive pardons came amid US semiquincentennial celebrations blanketed in extreme heat exacerbated by greenhouse gas emissions.
Pardon recipients include fraudster and bank fraud convict
Among the pardon recipients was Adam Kidan, president of a light industrial staffing company, sentenced to nearly six years in prison in 2006 for purchasing a fleet of gambling boats. Kidan was a former business partner of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and his case was part of a wider early 2000s lobbying scandal. Newsday reported in March that Kidan helped host a fundraiser at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club for a Republican congressional candidate from New York's Long Island.
Another pardon recipient was Jack Harvard, convicted of bank fraud in the 1980s. Trump cited Harvard's “upstanding” post-conviction record and his allowing US and NATO troops to train on his ranch for free.
Nine pardoned for Clean Air Act violations
The other nine faced Clean Air Act violations under the Biden administration between Trump's nonconsecutive terms. CBS News identified them as Ryan Lalone, Wade Lalone, Matt Geouge, Tim Clancy, Mac Spurlock, Joshua Davis, Barry Pierce and Aaron Rudolf. Trump posted on Truth Social that they were “in, or being sent to, prison for ‘fixing their car’.” He added: “I AM SETTING THEM ALL FREE, RIGHT NOW!”
The Clean Air Act pardons came days after Trump signed a memo to the EPA asserting that people could fix their vehicles however they wanted, referencing a diesel mechanic he pardoned in November, Troy Lake, who disabled emissions-monitoring systems.
Broader environmental rollbacks
The Trump administration in February repealed a scientific finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health and eliminated federal tailpipe emissions standards for cars and trucks. Blistering heat gripping much of the US during the 250th anniversary celebrations would have been “virtually impossible” without the ongoing climate crisis, according to Worldwide Weather Attribution researchers.
Organizers of an Independence Day parade planned for Saturday in Washington DC as part of Trump's Freedom 250 initiative canceled the event late Friday, citing an extreme heat warning. On Friday, Freedom 250's Great American State Fair on the National Mall temporarily closed after over 40 visitors were treated for heat-related illness. The heat also delayed the fair's opening on Saturday.
