John Oliver has criticised Donald Trump's use of presidential pardons, arguing that the US president is prioritising allies and donors over justice. On his HBO show Last Week Tonight, Oliver said Trump's clemency decisions risk releasing violent offenders who support him politically.
Oliver noted that while the pardon power is constitutionally unchecked and has historically been used for deserving cases, Trump has pardoned cronies such as Charles Kushner and Paul Manafort, as well as January 6 Capitol rioters including the leader of the Proud Boys. In his second term, Trump has issued nearly 2,000 commutations and is reportedly planning 250 more to mark the US's 250th birthday.
Among those pardoned was Trevor Milton, founder of electric car startup Nikola, who was convicted of wire fraud and had donated over $1.8m to Trump's campaign. The pardon wiped out more than $600m in restitution owed to investors. Oliver highlighted that Trump's second-term pardons have removed over $1.3bn from crime victims.
Another controversial case involved Changpeng Zhao, CEO of crypto company Binance, who pleaded guilty to failing to prevent money laundering for Russian drug traffickers and Hamas militants. Trump pardoned Zhao in October 2025, later claiming on 60 Minutes he did not know who Zhao was, despite Binance having set up a crypto deal netting the Trump family around $30m per month.
Oliver concluded that the pardon system now appears driven by media coverage, money, and appeals to Trump's vanity, rather than established criteria. He warned that while legally little can be done, the ratio of deserving to undeserving pardons has reversed, leaving only scumbags and fraudsters with connections to Trump receiving clemency.
