A rumored White House proposal to issue 250 pardons to commemorate the nation’s 250th birthday is prompting a new wave of public clemency campaigns from some of the country’s most recognizable convicted figures, despite uncertainty about whether such a plan is even in the works.
The proposal, first reported by the Wall Street Journal last month, remains in preliminary discussions, sources familiar with the matter told the outlet. In turn, the murmurs of a potential clemency package have generated fresh intrigue among pardon hopefuls seeking relief from President Donald Trump, whose grants are increasingly sought through online promotions, lobbying campaigns, and people with sway over the administration.
A White House official declined to tell the Washington Examiner whether Trump is really mulling a burst of 250 pardons, adding, “The White House does not comment on potential clemency requests.”
“The President is the final decider on all pardons or commutations,” the official added.
‘Pharma Bro’ throws his hat in the ring
Still, the mere possibility of looming pardons has already triggered sharp interest from figures such as Martin Shkreli, whose decision to raise the price of the antiparasitic drug Daraprim from $13.50 to $750 per pill in 2015 made him one of the most controversial figures in corporate America and earned him the nickname “Pharma Bro.”
Shkreli was later convicted on securities fraud and conspiracy charges unrelated to the Daraprim controversy and sentenced to seven years in prison. He was released in 2022 and remains barred from serving as an officer of a publicly traded company.
“My pardon application is in,” Shkreli wrote on X last week. “I will not be paying anyone a dollar, despite dozens of people reaching out in hopes of ‘facilitating’ relief.”
In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Shkreli said the prospect of a large clemency initiative helped motivate him to formally seek a pardon.
“The fact that Trump seems to want to pardon 250 people by the 250th anniversary of the country, I think that’s one of the catalysts that brought me to just finally file,” he said.
Theranos founder ‘locked in’ for clemency
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who is serving an 11-year sentence for defrauding investors, has likewise appeared more active on her official social media accounts in recent weeks, posting an image of herself “locked in” with a caption saying both “literally and figuratively” on May 26.
Holmes officially filed her clemency request in January. But days after the Wall Street Journal’s report about a possible 250-pardon blitz, her X account published a message focused on her desire to reunite with her children.
“Every day, I fight,” the post said. “Every breath I take is for one purpose: to move one inch closer to holding my children again, tucking them into bed at night, and feeling them safe in my arms as they sleep.” The Washington Examiner was unable to contact a representative for Holmes before publication.
Saturday also marked the three-year anniversary of Holmes’s sentencing, which she documented on her account in a post that described the milestone as the third year since she “surrendered into the barbed wire, and began the hardest chapter of this fight to prove my innocence.”
Likewise, she even commented on Shkreli’s pardon request post, responding with an image and message from the Hunger Games movie: “May the odds be ever in your favor.”
While former President Joe Biden signed a host of controversial pardons and issued more than any other president in modern history, Trump’s second-term clemency operation has likewise drawn criticism.
Lobbyists, consultants, and political intermediaries have increasingly marketed themselves as pardon facilitators, promising access to decision-makers inside Trump’s orbit for substantial fees, the New York Times reported in May.
The New York Times report described a growing scramble among white-collar defendants and other pardon seekers to secure introductions to influential figures around the president, with some consultants reportedly seeking six- and seven-figure compensation packages.
Shkreli said he intentionally avoided that strategy.
“I’ve even had my own friends ask me for money for them to help me with the process,” he told the Washington Examiner. “I thought it was pretty ridiculous.”
“I can be my own advocate,” Skreli added. “I don’t need somebody who will boldly claim that they can get it into the president’s hands.”
Trump’s clemency embrace fueled applicant surge
According to Justice Department data, roughly 5,100 clemency petitions were filed in 2024. That figure surged to more than 16,000 the following year, when Trump took office.
The Office of the Pardon Attorney no longer publicly reports the number of pending petitions. The last available figures showed more than 10,000 unresolved applications before the most recent influx arrived.
The surge follows a series of high-profile clemency actions by Trump since his return to office, including his Inauguration Day pardon of approximately 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants and subsequent relief granted to figures such as Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, and Nikola founder Trevor Milton.
Mike Davis, a close Trump ally and founder of the Article III Project, said more clemency grants would fit naturally within the administration’s broader effort to address what conservatives view as government overreach, though he said he was not privy to any large pardon plans ahead of July 4.
“There are a lot of people who should be pardoned,” Davis told the Washington Examiner, without endorsing or confirming the existence of a 250-person pardon initiative. “There are a lot of people who have been persecuted by our government over the years.”
DEMOCRATS INVESTIGATE ALLEGED ‘PAY-TO-PLAY’ PARDON SCHEME IN TRUMP WHITE HOUSE
Davis pointed to groups conservatives have long argued were unfairly targeted, including anti-abortion activists prosecuted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, Catholic advocates scrutinized by federal authorities, parents who protested at school board meetings, and Trump supporters.
“We need a hard reset,” Davis said. “Pardons are a good way to do that. It would help restore confidence in our justice system.”
