Trump pardons Rudy Giuliani, other key figures allegedly involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election

President Donald Trump issued a sweeping pardon to key figures allegedly involved in the plan to arrange an alternate slate of electors and “expose voting fraud”  during the 2020 election, according to U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin.

Trump pardoned high-profile individuals allegedly involved in his attempt to overturn the election, including Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Boris Epshteyn, John Eastman and Mark Meadows — and 72 other individuals allegedly associated with the effort to challenge the 2020 election results.

The pardon, which Trump appears to have signed on Friday, covers each of the president’s co-defendants who were charged in Georgia for a sweeping scheme to overturn election results.

Rudy Giuliani, personal lawyer of President Donald Trump, looks on during an appearance before the Michigan House Oversight Committee in Lansing, Michigan, Dec. 2, 2020.

Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images

Four of the pardon recipients pleaded guilty in the Georgia case.

“This proclamation ends a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 Presidential Election and continues the process of national reconciliation,” the pardon says.

The pardon language explicitly states that it does not apply to Trump himself. “This pardon does not apply to the president of the United States,” according to the pardon.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.