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President Trump pardoned two diesel truck mechanics at an Alaska rally Tuesday night, arguing they were “wrongfully charged” during the Biden administration.
Trump signed the pardons for Zachary Czubak and Patrick Fleming midway through his midterm election rally in Wasilla for Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Nick Begich, the GOP incumbents in their respective Senate and House races.
“They wanted to put them in jail for 10 years because they fixed an engine,” Trump said. “How sick.”
“Well, I heard about it. I read the story about it. Did a little check, and I’m giving each one an unconditional pardon,” he continued.
White House aide Natalie Harp brought the pardons up to the podium for the president to sign.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever heard, when you give somebody a pardon they say that means – and I don’t know how this works and why it’s an expression, but it’s well used – that means you’re as clean as a newborn baby’s ass,” he quipped.
The president invited the two men up on stage to receive the freshly inked pardons and address the crowd.
“This means the world to me. It’s everything,” Fleming said.
“We’re not criminals. We’re not trying to hurt anybody. We want to help Alaskans. We want to help people with diesel trucks, with vehicles, you know, across the world, and President Trump is showing his support in this, and from the bottom of my heart, I can’t thank him enough,” he added.
Fleming and Czubak both pleaded guilty in 2022 to one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act.
They allegedly tampered with federally mandated monitoring devices on private and commercial diesel vehicles and removed required air pollution control equipment on at least 37 vehicles between July 2019 and September 2020, according to the Biden Justice Department.
Fleming was given a $66,000 fine, while Czubak was sentenced to five years’ probation and also fined $66,000.
“Enjoy your lives, fellas,” Trump remarked as they left the stage, calling the charges against them “crazy.”
The president also warned Alaskans about a “fake Dan Sullivan” that is on the ballot in the state.
Trump charged that the “fake” Sullivan, a retired teacher, was “put up by the Democrats.”
“It’s just cheating. It’s terrible … They found a guy named Dan Sullivan and they put him up to get people a little confused,” he continued, noting that the 2.4% the other Sullivan received in the ranked-choice Senate primary – allowing him to qualify for the general election – “could be the difference” in November.
The president also urged voters to repeal the state’s “ranked-choice voting scam.”
“It’s a Democrat scam. And you got to repeal it … All it is is a way to cheat,” Trump claimed.