On January 20, 2025, during the first day of his second term, United States President Donald Trump issued a proclamation that granted clemency to about 1,200 people convicted of offenses related to the January 6 United States Capitol attack that occurred near the end of his first presidential term.
Background
In the aftermath of his 2020 presidential election loss to Joe Biden, President Trump repeatedly made false claims that widespread electoral fraud had occurred and that only he had legitimately won the election. Although most resulting lawsuits were either dismissed or ruled against by numerous courts, Trump nonetheless conspired with his campaign team to submit documents in several states (all of which had been won by Biden) which falsely claimed to be legitimate electoral certificates for President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. After the submission of these documents, the Trump campaign intended that the presiding officer of the United States Senate, either President of the Senate Pence or President pro tempore Chuck Grassley, would claim to have the unilateral power to reject electors during...