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SEC dismissed its civil fraud case against Nikola founder Trevor Milton after his Trump pardon

On September 11, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a joint stipulation dismissing with prejudice its civil fraud enforcement action against Nikola founder Trevor Milton in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The dismissal followed President Trump's March 27, 2025 pardon of Milton on his related criminal securities-fraud conviction, ending the SEC's remaining case against him. It paralleled the Commission's dismissals a week later of civil actions against two other Trump clemency recipients, Devon Archer and Carlos Watson.

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Washington, D.C.

Abuses documented

Actors

On September 11, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a joint stipulation in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissing, with prejudice, its civil fraud enforcement action against Nikola founder Trevor Milton. The dismissal ended the Commission's remaining case, which had sought to hold Milton liable for misleading investors about the electric- and hydrogen-truck maker's technology and business prospects.

The move followed President Trump's March 27, 2025 pardon of Milton on his related federal criminal securities-fraud conviction. With the criminal judgment set aside by clemency, the SEC's civil action was the last enforcement mechanism still pending against him, and the Commission chose to abandon it. The dismissal formed part of a broader pattern in which the SEC walked away from civil fraud cases against Trump clemency recipients: one week later, on September 18, 2025, it dismissed similar actions against Devon Archer and Carlos Watson.

Why we recorded this

Independent regulatory agencies are meant to enforce the securities laws on their merits, insulated from White House political direction. The SEC dropped its civil fraud case against Trevor Milton shortly after the president pardoned him on the related criminal conviction, abandoning enforcement it had pursued for years without public explanation. Declining to pursue civil recovery in step with the president's clemency weakens the norm that the securities laws apply to the well-connected the same as they do to everyone else.

Sources

  1. Trevor R. Milton (SEC Litigation Release LR-26397) — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission primary accessed July 11, 2026
  2. SEC Drops Suit Against Nikola Founder After Trump's Pardon — Law360 secondary accessed July 11, 2026
  3. SEC Drops Civil Case Against Nikola's Trevor Milton After Trump Pardon — FuelCellsWorks secondary accessed July 11, 2026
  4. Trump pardons Nikola founder Trevor Milton in securities fraud case — CNBC secondary accessed July 11, 2026

See also