Donald Trump explained why he pardoned Trevor Milton, a campaign donor who was convicted of defrauding investors by making false claims about his electric truck company, in comments at the Oval Office on Friday, telling reporters that Milton’s treatment was “very unfair” and that “the thing that he did wrong” was supporting Trump’s presidency.

“He supported Trump,” Trump told reporters. “He liked Trump. I didn’t know him, but he liked him. … They went after him, they went after his family, they went after his business, and he was I believe exonerated and then they went after him again and they brought him this time into Manhattan and he had nothing to do with Manhattan. They got him and I said, ‘That’s unfair.’ There are many people like that. They support Trump and they went after him.” 

Milton was the founder and CEO of Nikola, an electric- and hydrogen-powered truck company that went bankrupt. In 2023, a federal judge sentenced him to four years in prison and fined him $1 million after he was convicted on one count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud. Prosecutors argued that he made false claims about his company, including that he had billions of dollars in binding orders. He had been free on bail at the time of the pardon. Now, Milton no longer needs to pay restitution to shareholders.

“Milton made false claims regarding nearly all aspects of Nikola’s business,” the Justice Department said when he was sentenced.

Milton celebrated the pardon in a video posted to Instagram. “This pardon is not just about me — it’s about every American who has been railroaded by the government, and unfortunately, that’s a lot of people,” he wrote. “It is no wonder why trust and confidence in the Justice Department has eroded to nothing … I saw firsthand the tactics they use to guarantee convictions.”

Milton’s lawyer is Brad Bondi, whose sister is Attorney General Pam Bondi. 

In October 2024, the former CEO gave more than $900,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, a joint fundraising committee benefiting Trump and the Republican National Committee, according to FEC filings. 

Trump criticized former President Joe Biden and his Justice Department for prosecuting Milton while discussing the pardon on Friday.. 

“You don’t realize this is a vicious group of people that were in this office before us,” Trump said, adding, “They’re violent … they destroyed five years of his life … and he did nothing wrong. And he’s a good person.”