President Trump signed 11 pardons Friday, including one for the convicted former business partner of infamous lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a White House official told The Post.
Adam Kidan was sentenced to 70 months in prison in 2006 after pleading guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges related to his attempt, along with Abramoff, to purchase SunCruz Casinos for $147.5 million with a counterfeit wire transfer document.
Kidan, an entrepreneur, has since gone on to start multiple staffing companies and has become a major Republican donor.
The bulk of the pardons are for individuals convicted of tampering with emission control systems on cars and trucks, including by selling “defeat devices” and “tuners” to maximize the engine power, in violation of the Clean Air Act.
Trump had teased issuing six pardons to people convicted during the Biden administration for “fixing their car,” earlier Friday on Truth Social.
“It is my Great Honor to have just signed Pardons for six people who were persecuted by the Biden Administration, and were in, or being sent to, prison, for ‘fixing their car,’” the president wrote on Truth Social. “While I know this sounds ridiculous, it is nevertheless a fact, and part of the Weaponization and Stupidity that our Country had to endure during four long years of Sleepy Joe Biden.
“I AM SETTING THEM ALL FREE, RIGHT NOW!”
Kidan’s pardon appears to be one of only two not related to environmental crimes.
Jack Harvard, who was convicted of bank fraud charges in Texas in the 1980s and now runs the Texas Safari Ranch in Clifton, is the other.
The complete list of Friday’s pardons, including descriptions of their cases provided by the White House, below:
- Joshua Davis – Biden’s Department of Injustice targeted American businesses like Mr. Davis’s, who safely modified vehicles in good faith and circumvented cumbersome emissions controls regulations. President Trump has relieved consumers from these regulatory burdens; thus, there is no need for Mr. Davis to still be on probation, but to be pardoned.
- Matt Geouge – Like Joshua Davis, Mr. Geouge was a victim of the previous Administration’s wrongful and unnecessary regulations on emissions controls, receiving prison time for modifying trucks and lost his business in the process. He deserves his life and his business back.
- Jonathan Achtemeier – American businessman Mr. Achtemeier helped people increase the lifespan of their trucks despite the burdensome emissions regulations imposed by the Biden Administration, but was excessively punished. He deserves a life without a stain on his record.
- Tim Clancy – The Biden Administration’s crushing environmental regulations on emissions controls not only killed vehicles but businesses too, including small business owner and Army veteran Mr. Clancy’s. Thanks to President Trump, Americans have the right to safely tune their and Mr. Clancy should not be criminalized for a policy that is no longer in effect.
- Ryan and Wade Lalone – To combat the monopoly on emissions-related repairs and increased costs allowed under the Biden Administration, Ryan and Wade Lalone bypassed emissions controls systems on semi-trucks and were persecuted for it. Such an enforcement by the former bureaucratic government was aggressive and invasive, and thanks to President Trump’s historic action to reduce or remove the economic burdens, these Americans are no longer criminals.
- Barry Pierce – The Trump Administration is not in the business to criminalize American entrepreneurs like Mr. Pierce, who tried to modify and repair trucks on his own but received egregious penalties and served time in prison. Such restrictions to the free market under the Biden Administration are no longer in effect, and thus Mr. Pierce should be a free man with a clean slate.
- Aaron Rudolf – Mr. Rudolf was excessively prosecuted by the Biden Administration, which weaponized burdensome regulations and jacked up operational costs for blue-collar workers in the auto industry. Since this policy is no longer in effect, hard working Americans like Mr. Rudolf should be given a pardon.
- Adam Kidan – In 2006, Adam Kidan was convicted and pled guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges. Following Mr. Kidan’s release from prison in 2009, he found work at a staffing agency and dedicated himself to learning the business so as to aid others in finding employment. He ultimately assisted in the founding of a staffing business, Chartwell Staffing Solutions, which grew into one of the 100 largest staffing companies in the world. Since leaving Chartwell in 2018, Mr. Kidan has served as the president of Empire Workforce Solutions which is currently the fourteenth fastest growing staffing company in the United States. Over the course of his career in the staffing industry, Mr. Kidan’s businesses have secured employment for over 250,000 individuals in entry-level jobs.
- Mackenzie Spurlock – Mr. Spurlock tuned trucks on his own to combat the rising costs of vehicle repairs by Biden’s antibusiness environmental regulations, and doing so allowed him to safely operate his small business amidst the extreme weather conditions in Alaska. He was also a victim of the previous Administration’s Department of Injustice, as both his home and business were raided because of this “violation.” Mr. Spurlock should be given a pardon as this burdensome policy is no longer in place, thanks to President Trump, and should be allowed to rejoin the military with a clean record.
- Jack Harvard – Mr. Havard is given a pardon because of his upstanding record post-conviction. After prison, Mr. Harvard turned his life around by committing himself to public service—protecting and raising endangered animals on his ranch, and allowing the US military and NATO troops to train on his land free of charge.
