# Trevor Milton **Trevor Milton** is the founder and former CEO of Nikola Corporation, the now-bankrupt hydrogen and electric truck firm. In October 2022 a New York federal jury convicted him of securities fraud and wire fraud for making false and misleading statements about "nearly all aspects of the business," including a notorious promotional video that showed a Nikola truck appearing to drive under its own power when it had in fact been rolled down a hill. He was sentenced in 2023 to four years in prison and **pardoned by [[Donald Trump]] in March 2025** as part of the [[Trump 2025 Pardon Spree]]. ## The Nikola Fraud Prosecutors said Milton defrauded retail investors through false statements on social media and in podcast and interview appearances, inflating Nikola's stock on the strength of capabilities the company did not have. Federal prosecutors had urged the court to order **$680 million in restitution to Nikola shareholders** plus $15.2 million to a wire-fraud victim. Because of the pardon, the court could order **no restitution of any kind** — a stark illustration of how clemency in the [[Trump 2025 Pardon Spree]] extinguishes victim recovery. ## The Donor Channel Milton and his wife donated between roughly $3.2 million and $3.6 million to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. Trump's full and unconditional pardon was reportedly motivated in part by his belief that Milton had been "persecuted" for supporting his political ambitions — the same lawfare framing applied across the spree. Reporting also linked support for the pardon to [[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]]'s orbit. ## The Company Died Anyway Nikola filed for **Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2025** — one month before Milton's pardon — and wound down operations, selling its assets off in pieces. The shareholders prosecutors had sought $680 million in restitution for lost the company as well as the recovery. This is the part the clemency framing cannot absorb. The pardon did not correct an injustice against a viable business unfairly maligned; it arrived as the business collapsed, and its only operative effect was to extinguish the restitution obligation to the investors who had been defrauded. Nothing was restored except the defendant's position. ## The Counsel Channel Milton's trial defense was led by **[[Brad Bondi]]** — brother of [[Pam Bondi]], Attorney General in the [[Second Trump Administration]] — with **[[Marc Mukasey]]** and Terence Healy as co-trial counsel. Mukasey's practice runs through [[Donald Trump]]'s businesses and, separately, the crypto-fraud docket. The composition of the defense team drew congressional scrutiny after the pardon issued. Milton is named as one of four clients in the **March 11, 2026** letter from Sen. [[Adam Schiff]] and Rep. Dave Min asking the [[Department of Justice]] Inspector General to examine whether [[Pam Bondi]] properly recused herself from matters involving her brother — a case study in what proximity to the clemency power is worth on the open market. ## Cross-references - Lead counsel: [[Brad Bondi]] - Co-trial counsel: [[Marc Mukasey]] - Clemency event: [[Trump 2025 Pardon Spree]] - Mechanism: [[Pardons as Currency]] - Accountability frame: [[Elite Impunity]]