President Trump pardoned two diesel-truck mechanics during a rally in Alaska on Tuesday night, saying they had been “wrongfully charged” under the Biden administration.
Trump signed unconditional pardons for Zachary Czubak and Patrick Fleming during his midterm election rally in Wasilla, where he was campaigning for Republican incumbents Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Nick Begich.
“They wanted to put them in jail for 10 years because they fixed an engine,” Trump said. “How sick.”
Trump said he learned about the case after reading reports and conducting his own review. “I’m giving each one an unconditional pardon,” he told the crowd.
White House aide Natalie Harp brought the pardon documents to the podium for Trump to sign.
Trump then made a crude joke about the meaning of receiving a pardon, saying it indicates that a person is “as clean as a newborn baby’s ass.”
The president invited both men onto the stage to accept the newly signed pardons and speak to the audience.
“This means the world to me. It’s everything,” Fleming said.
Fleming said he and Czubak were not criminals and had not intended to harm anyone. He added that they wanted to help Alaskans and diesel-truck owners around the world, thanking Trump for supporting them.
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Fleming and Czubak pleaded guilty in 2022 to one count each of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act.
According to the Biden Justice Department, the mechanics tampered with federally required monitoring devices on private and commercial diesel vehicles and removed mandated pollution-control equipment from at least 37 vehicles between July 2019 and September 2020.
Fleming received a $66,000 fine. Czubak was sentenced to five years of probation and was also ordered to pay a $66,000 fine.
As the men left the stage, Trump told them to “enjoy your lives,” describing the charges as “crazy.”
Trump also warned Alaska voters about what he called a “fake Dan Sullivan” appearing on the state’s ballot.
He claimed the other Sullivan, a retired teacher, had been placed on the ballot by Democrats.
“It’s just cheating. It’s terrible,” Trump said, arguing that the candidate’s 2.4% share of the ranked-choice Senate primary vote allowed him to advance to the general election and “could be the difference” in November.
Trump also called on Alaskans to repeal the state’s ranked-choice voting system, which he labeled a “scam.”
“It’s a Democrat scam. And you got to repeal it,” Trump said, claiming the system was simply “a way to cheat.”
