Trump flaunts pardon rules — and costs victims and taxpayers more than $1 billion

Trump flaunts pardon rules — and costs victims and taxpayers more than $1 billion

Their cases were different. One faced a four-year prison sentence in a $675 million fraud case for marketing an electric truck that wasn’t drivable. Another tried to overthrow the government. A tax cheat avoided prison and $4.4 million in restitution after his mom donated $1 million to the president.

Their cases have two things in common, The Marshall Project explains. President Donald Trump pardoned them all in the early months of his second administration. And those pardons violated long-standing Department of Justice policies that reward people who show remorse, pay restitution and can contribute to society. Since returning to the White House, Trump has pardoned more than 1,600 people and at least two