Trump grants clemency to six polluters, weighs Diddy pardon

President Donald Trump granted clemency to six individuals convicted of Clean Air Act violations on Friday, July 3, while privately weighing potential pardons for several high-profile figures, including music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs. The president announced the six pardons in a social media post, framing the individuals as having been persecuted for fixing their cars.

The formal recommendations list from the White House pardons team, which Trump reviewed in a meeting Friday afternoon, focused exclusively on emissions-related cases. This action follows a broader shift in environmental enforcement under the administration. Earlier this year, the Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors to drop all remaining cases and investigations tied to so-called "defeat devices," which are used to tamper with pollution controls on diesel vehicles. Last month, Trump issued an executive order directing the Environmental Protection Agency to deprioritize civil enforcement of such tampering.

Stewart Cables, an attorney involved in clemency efforts for similar cases, described the prosecutions as government overreach. Last year, Trump pardoned Wyoming mechanic Troy Lake, who served seven...