Then-Reps. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) and Chris Collins (R-NY) were the first two House members to endorse Donald Trump in early 2016.

Both men were indicted on federal charges in 2018, and both nevertheless ran for reelection and won with explicit support from Trump.

After winning, Hunter and Collins both pleaded guilty in 2019. Hunter admitted to using campaign contributions for personal expenses and lavish family vacations. Collins pleaded guilty to insider trading charges related to his seat on a corporate board.

Both were given prison sentences, and in December 2020, both received full pardons from Trump. Hunter never spent a day behind bars.

Today, Collins is running for Congress from Florida, and Hunter is a lobbyist.

In October 2025, Hunter registered a new client: the son of late Watergate burglar G. Gordon Liddy, Raymond Liddy, who was convicted in early 2020 of possession of child pornography.

Welcome to the marketplace of Trump pardons. It’s a rogue’s gallery of felonies and favors, cronies and cash.

Every president has used the pardon power. Many presidents have abused the pardon power, with Democrats Bill Clinton and Joe Biden as the two most blatant recent examples.

And every person ever pardoned or granted clemency has been a criminal, by definition. Very few of them were completely sympathetic cases. The typical clemency recipient did something undeniably wrong, but reformed in prison. Many of them deserved prison sentences but were given ones that were too harsh.

For instance, the elder Liddy burgled the........

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