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Trump pardoned Adam Kidan, Abramoff-scandal figure and Republican fundraiser host, for his 2005 fraud conviction

On July 3, 2026, President Trump pardoned Adam Kidan, a former business partner of lobbyist Jack Abramoff who pleaded guilty in 2005 to fraud and conspiracy in the SunCruz gambling-boat scandal and was sentenced to nearly six years in prison. Kidan, who reporting indicates helped host a 2026 Mar-a-Lago fundraiser for a Long Island Republican congressional candidate, was among 11 people granted clemency that day.

Jurisdiction
federal
Location
Washington, D.C.

Abuses documented

Actors

On July 3, 2026, President Donald Trump pardoned Adam Kidan, a former business partner of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, as part of a batch of 11 clemency grants issued that day. Kidan pleaded guilty in 2005 to fraud and conspiracy connected to the purchase of the SunCruz Casinos fleet of gambling boats, and in 2006 he was sentenced to nearly six years in prison. The case formed part of the broader early-2000s lobbying corruption investigation that implicated Abramoff, figures on Capitol Hill, the Interior Department, and officials in the George W. Bush administration.

Kidan's conviction was unrelated to the nine Clean Air Act "defeat device" emissions pardons issued the same day. Newsday reported in March 2026 that Kidan was among the hosts of a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser for a Long Island Republican congressional candidate, tying the clemency recipient to the president's political fundraising network. Reporting on the day's pardons noted that Trump has taken an increasingly personal role in the clemency process, using the pardon power with unusual frequency to benefit allies.

The pardon extinguishes the remaining legal consequences of a fraud conviction that had been final for nearly two decades.

Why we recorded this

The pardon power exists to correct injustice, not to shield political allies from the consequences of proven crimes. Trump pardoned Adam Kidan, a former Jack Abramoff business partner who pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy and served nearly six years in prison, and who more recently helped host a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser for a Republican congressional candidate. Clemency granted to a political supporter for an unrelated, long-final corruption conviction weakens the norm that the rule of law applies regardless of proximity to power.

Sources

  1. Trump pardons 11 people, including several for Clean Air Act violations — CNN investigative accessed July 3, 2026
  2. Trump pardons former Abramoff partner, 9 people convicted of violating vehicle emissions controls — Las Vegas Sun (Associated Press) investigative accessed July 3, 2026

See also