Can Donald Trump pardon Rudy Giuliani?

Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Is Donald Trump about to make all of Rudy Giuliani's legal troubles disappear? That's the impression you might get from the former presidential lawyer, who lives his life as if he were going to Trump's second inauguration on January 20, 2025.

In October, Giuliani was ordered to return almost everything he owns, from his Upper East Side apartment to his 1980 Mercedes, to pay $148 million in damages for defaming Georgia election officials, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. But since then, Giuliani has engaged in wild behavior in court and missed several deadlines to return his assets. Giuliani even asked to delay the trial over whether he should hand over his Florida home and World Series rings so he could attend Trump's inauguration festivities (the judge refused, saying the court didn't revolve around of Giuliani's social calendar).

So what is really going on here? This is what we know.

No. The defamation case brought by Freeman and Moss is a civil action. The president can only grant clemency for federal criminal offenses.

Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution states:

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the present service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer of each of the executive departments, on any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States. United, except in cases of impeachment.

As the government website Constitution Annotated explains, the pardon power does not apply to federal civil suits or state cases:

Despite the extent of the president's authority under the pardon clause, the text of the Constitution provides at least two limitations on this power: first, pardon may be granted only for offenses against the United States, which means that state criminal offenses and federal or state civil suits are not covered. Second, the president's pardon power cannot be used in impeachment.

No. There are so many ongoing lawsuits involving Giuliani that it has become difficult to keep track of them (at one point there were nearly a dozen). But the former New York mayor has only been criminally charged in two states, Georgia and Arizona. In both cases, Giuliani was indicted along with other Trump allies for his allegedly illegal efforts to steal the 2020 election and pleaded not guilty.

With Donald Trump returning to the White House, both of these cases could be delayed indefinitely (although Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has said she has no plans to drop the case). its State). But even if they are successful, Trump's pardon power is irrelevant since it does not cover state criminal offenses.

Maybe? The Constitution clearly states that the presidential pardon power applies only to federal criminal offenses. Giuliani has not yet been indicted on federal criminal charges.

However, a pardon may not be the motivation for Giuliani's alleged delaying tactics; maybe he just thinks he'll get more favorable treatment in court with his friend Trump back in the White House.

Giuliani's possible chaotic behavior also has nothing to do with Trump. He recently admitted to the judge in his sexual assault case that he didn't even know if he was representing himself. There may not be much method to Giuliani's legal madness.

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