Can Donald Trump pardon Rudy Giuliani?

Donald Trump cannot grant Rudy Giuliani a pardon from his two criminal indictments, legal experts have told Newsweek.

Trump, Giuliani and 17 others were indicted over election fraud in Georgia following their actions during the 2020 presidential election.

Both Trump and Giuliani pleaded not guilty.

In May 2024, Giuliani, a former mayor of New York, was indicted on similar charges in Arizona. He has also pleaded not guilty in that case.

While Trump likely cannot be put on trial in Georgia for the four years that he will be president, Giuliani's trial could continue.

Separately, Giuliani is facing enforcement proceedings after losing a $148 million defamation case taken by two Georgia election workers he wrongly accused of rigging the 2020 election for Joe Biden.

Newsweek sought email comment from Giuliani's attorney and Trump's transition team on Thursday.

Los Angeles-based lawyer, John Perlstein, told Newsweek that Trump cannot pardon Giuliani from the Georgia election workers' lawsuit.

"There is no such thing as a pardon in a civil case so Mr. Giuliani will remain beholden to the two election workers for the rest of his life, and potentially afterward as the estate would remain liable if there are any assets in the estate," he said.

"As for criminal proceedings, there are no pardons available to the president for state crimes, only for federal crimes," Perlstein added.

New York University law professor, Stephen Gillers, agreed that Trump cannot pardon Giuliani.

"The president's pardon power extends only to federal criminal liability. It has no bearing on civil liability or state criminal liability," he told Newsweek.

He said Trump could direct the Justice Department to appear as an amicus in state court, or a federal civil court, supporting Giuliani's legal defense.

However, he believes this is unlikely.

An amicus, or friend of the court, is a person or organization who submits an expert opinion to a court in support of a party in a case.

If the Justice Department did weigh in on Giuliani's side, it could help influence a state court during pre-trial legal arguments.

Syracuse University law professor, Greg Germain, told Newsweek that there is a very narrow scope for a presidential pardon in civil cases but it would not apply in Giuliani's case.

"Technically, I think there is some room for a pardon to apply to civil liability to the government. For example, maybe Trump could pardon someone from liability to the federal government for civil tax penalties."

"But civil liability to the government for tax penalties...has nothing to do with a private civil claim by election workers for defamation," he said.

In December 2023, a Washington D.C jury found Giuliani liable for defamation and ordered him to pay $148 million to former election workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea "Shaye" Moss after accusing them of ballot tampering while promoting president-elect Donald Trump's debunked election fraud claims.

On November 26, New York judge Lewis Liman determined that a trial must be held in January to determine if Giuliani's Florida home and his World Series rings should be included in the $148 million payout.

The Florida residence and World Series baseball rings are among the assets Giuliani is attempting to protect from confiscation.