President Donald Trump has enthusiastically embraced his constitutional power to pardon those convicted of federal crimes across both his terms in office. His pardons have often reflected his personal interests and perceived opportunities of political expediency, rather than a cohesive philosophy of criminal justice reform. And befitting a consummate showman like Trump, many of those pardoned have been celebrities and other notables whose high-profile clemencies have enabled the president to command more of the public's limited attention span. Here are the most recognizable names on Trump's pardon list — so far.
Todd and Julie Chrisley
Convicted in 2022 on a host of financial and fraud-related charges, the eponymous stars of USA Network's "Chrisley Knows Best" hid their crimes behind their "self-presentation as self-made businesspeople," said The New York Times. The Chrisleys "don't look like terrorists to me," Trump reportedly told the pair's daughter, Savannah, while announcing the pardons, Savannah said to NewsNation. "I don't know them, but give them my regards and wish them good luck," Trump added.
The pair have been "unfairly targeted and overly prosecuted by an unjust justice system," said White House spokesperson Harrison Fields in a statement to NBC News. The family is now slated to appear in a new reality show, greenlit just days before the Chrisleys were officially pardoned on May 28, in which they will be "exposing the raw truth of their lives — past and present," per an official synopsis provided to People.
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From his televised beginnings on cult favorite "Mr. Show" to his starring role on "Bob's Burgers," actor and comedian Jay Johnston was a mainstay on television screens for years until he was arrested and convicted for joining the mob of MAGA supporters who breached the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. Johnston was ultimately sentenced to more than a year in prison in part for having "cracked jokes and interacted with other rioters as he used a cellphone to record the violence around him," said NPR.
Johnston was ultimately pardoned in one of Trump's first presidential acts in January, along with hundreds of other Jan. 6 participants. Trump politicized the arrests and imprisonments of many Capitol rioters during the run-up to the 2024 election.
NBA YoungBoy
Born Kentrell Gaulden, rapper NBA YoungBoy ended "more than five years of legal morass" by pleading guilty to gun-related charges in multiple states in December, The New York Times said, only to be made a free man as part of the president's May 28 pardon spree. Gaulden's legal saga has "come to a conclusion," said attorney Drew Findling, who previously served as Trump's personal legal counsel during the since-closed Georgia election interference case. The rapper can now "concentrate on first and foremost his family, and then, of course, his amazing career," Findling said to the Times.
"I want to thank President Trump for granting me a pardon and giving me the opportunity to keep building — as a man, as a father and as an artist," the rapper said in a statement, posted to social media. Trump's pardon means the artist "won't have to follow the terms of his probation, including drug testing," said The Associated Press. He has already announced a 32-date tour to begin this fall.
Lil Wayne
The president's January 2021 pardon of rap superstar Lil Wayne, born Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., came after speculation that the rapper was "angling for a pardon" after he "unexpectedly shared a photo" of himself and Trump during the 2020 campaign, Rolling Stone said. Carter, who pleaded guilty to felony gun possession in 2020 and faced up to a decade in prison, had exhibited his "generosity" through a "commitment to a variety of charities, including donations to research hospitals and a host of food banks," the White House said when it announced his pardon.
Rod Blagojevich
After initially commuting a raft of sentences (including wire fraud, solicitation of bribes and lying to the FBI) against disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2020, Trump waited until Feb. 10, 2025, to fully pardon the Democratic lawmaker. The self-proclaimed "Trumpocrat" hailed the president as a "great effing guy" in response.
Following his initial commutation, Blagojevich had become a "fierce defender of Trump as the president has faced his own legal battles," Politico said. The pair's relationship stretches back to Blagojevich's time as a cast member of Trump's popular NBC reality competition "The Apprentice," from which he was fired in the 4th week.
Michael 'Harry-O' Harris
While perhaps not a household name, Michael "Harry-O" Harris has been an instrumental figure in the music industry and hip-hop community, co-founding Death Row Records while behind bars for drug charges and attempted murder. While incarcerated, Harris not only helped launch the iconic rap label but also "negotiated deals with a variety of mainstream music labels," said the Los Angeles Times. Like Blagojevich, Harris had initially had his sentence commuted by Trump at the end of the president's first term, before being pardoned entirely as part of Trump's May clemency acts.
"This freedom is a gift," Harris said in a statement posted to Instagram thanking Trump and daughter Ivanka, as well as "Pardon-czar" Alice Marie Johnson, who has advised Trump on his clemency efforts following her own sentence commutation and eventual pardoning for drug-related offenses. "I will not waste it."
Kodak Black
Sentenced to nearly four years behind bars on federal weapons charges, rapper Kodak Black, born Bill Kapri, was initially granted clemency at the end of Trump's first term alongside fellow hip-hop star Lil Wayne. Black is a "prominent artist and community leader" who "committed to supporting a variety of charitable efforts, such as providing educational resources to students and families of fallen law enforcement officers and the underprivileged," The White House said while announcing his commuted sentence.
The "campaign" for Kapri's freedom was backed by a host of religious figures, as well as former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik, who was "himself pardoned by Trump" one year prior, said the BBC.
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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
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