WASHINGTON – In a notable move, former President Donald Trump has granted a pardon to the husband of Tennessee Republican Representative Diana Harshbarger. Over ten years ago, Robert Harshbarger Jr. was convicted for health care fraud and other offenses, leading to his imprisonment.
Back in 2013, Robert Harshbarger Jr., a licensed pharmacist, confessed to substituting a more affordable drug imported from China for an FDA-approved iron sucrose used by kidney dialysis patients. This drug was not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. His actions resulted in a four-year federal prison sentence.
The pardon was officially signed by Trump on Friday, as noted on the Office of the Pardon Attorney’s website within the Department of Justice. This pardon was part of a series of clemency actions, which also included pardons for a former Tennessee House Speaker and baseball legend Darryl Strawberry.
In recent days, Trump also extended clemency to a former New York police sergeant convicted of aiding China in an effort to coerce a former official to return. Additionally, on Monday, Trump issued pardons to his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, ex-chief of staff Mark Meadows, and several others involved in his attempts to contest the 2020 election results against Joe Biden.
A White House representative defended Harshbarger’s pardon, arguing that he suffered from “excessive prosecution.” The spokesperson explained that Harshbarger’s drug substitution was a practice known as “compounding,” where pharmacists provide non-FDA-approved drugs based on specific patient needs. The official requested anonymity when discussing the motivations behind Trump’s clemency choice.
The power to issue pardons is a constitutional privilege granted to presidents. Although pardons do not expunge criminal records, they are often viewed as acts of justice or clemency and serve to promote public good in certain cases.
Harshbarger turned to the Chinese drug due to a backlog of the iron sucrose drug, the White House official said. No patients were alleged to have been harmed by the substitution, and doctors seemed to prefer the drug Harshbarger gave them because it was easier to administer, the official said.
Prosecutors said that even though there were no reports of patients being harmed, Harshbarger’s substitution still put patients at risk since the FDA cannot assure the safety and effectiveness of products from other countries.
Harshbarger has served his sentence, the official said. He also was ordered to pay restitution, pay a fine and forfeit $425,000 in cash.
Rep. Harshbarger, who is also a licensed pharmacist, was first elected to the U.S. House in 2020 and has been a strong supporter of Trump. She spoke in support of Trump outside his hush money criminal trial in New York in 2024 and in other settings.
Trump has backed all of her congressional campaigns and offered her his “Complete and Total Endorsement” for reelection in 2026 in a Nov. 3 social media post.
She was not a member of Congress when her husband pleaded guilty in 2013 to one count of distributing a misbranded drug and one count of health care fraud.
Robert Harshbarger’s license was revoked in 2013 after the conviction, according to the website of the Tennessee Department of Health. The congresswoman remains licensed, the records show.
The congresswoman’s office in Washington did not immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment.
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