President Donald Trump announced pardons for two Alaska diesel mechanics at a midterm rally Tuesday night in Wasilla, signing clemency documents onstage as he announced that a long-awaited natural gas pipeline had received every necessary federal permit. The announcements put presidential clemency and federal energy permitting at the center of the rally.
Pardon Power on the Rally Stage
Trump named Zachary Czubak and Patrick Fleming, co-owners of an Anchorage diesel repair shop, and said he was pardoning them. Both men pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act. Trump also referred to his earlier pardon of Mackenzie "Mac" Spurlock, a Wasilla diesel shop owner.
"I'm giving each one of the three an unconditional pardon," Trump told supporters. The three were Czubak, Fleming and Spurlock. Trump signed the documents during the event, bringing the presidential pardon power directly onto the rally stage.
The mechanics’ case centered on emissions-control equipment on diesel vehicles. According to the Biden Justice Department, Czubak and Fleming were among three co-owners of "Arm Rippin Toys" who admitted removing federally required emissions-control equipment and tampering with monitoring devices on at least 37 vehicles. The modifications took place between July 2019 and September 2020, and federal prosecutors said the shop collected approximately $100,000 for the work.
Trump defended the men, saying their work helped keep trucks running in Alaska’s extreme cold. He said their prosecutions under the Biden-era Justice Department were unfair. One of the men thanked Trump and said, "It really did destroy us. It destroyed friendships. It destroyed families."
Trump signed the clemency documents while criticizing former President Joe Biden’s use of an autopen. "So I'm going to sign this now, something that Joe Biden would be unable to do because he was unable to sign his signature," Trump said. "What an honor. I love doing this stuff," he added, referring to the presidential pardon power.
Federal Permits for an Alaska Pipeline
Trump also announced that a long-awaited 800-mile natural gas pipeline had secured every necessary federal permit. The announcement concerned federal authorization for the project, but the article gave no details about the permits or the project’s construction schedule.
"Every single permit that you need, you can start tonight," Trump told the crowd. He also said, "Every single permit that you need has been granted." Fox News Digital contacted the White House for additional details on the project's federal permitting status.
Two distinct uses of federal authority featured at the rally: Trump’s announcement of unconditional pardons for the mechanics and his statement that the pipeline had received its required federal permits. The case record cited by the Biden Justice Department concerned alleged emissions-control violations that the men admitted; Trump’s stated justification focused on their work in Alaska and his view that their prosecutions were unfair. Trump presented the pipeline announcement as a completed federal-permitting step, while the White House had yet to provide further permitting details.