Trump Pardons 9 Mechanics in Emissions Cases as He Expands Right-to-Repair Push

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 3

Nine people charged in federal emissions-control cases received full pardons Friday after Trump said they had been prosecuted for simply “fixing their car.”
The White House said the cases involved bypassing emissions rules that are no longer in effect, and Trump tied the clemency to his campaign against what he called Biden-era regulatory overreach.
Earlier this week, Trump signed a memo aimed at easing vehicle self-repair and widening approval paths for aftermarket parts, framing the pardons as part of a broader right-to-repair agenda.
The move follows Trump’s 2025 pardon of diesel shop owner Troy Lake Sr., whose company admitted disabling onboard diagnostics on at least 344 trucks and whose case became a symbol of the EPA crackdown.
Biden-era prosecutors had defended the investigations as a public-health measure, saying tampered trucks emitted more than 1,300 tons of excess pollutants and hurt air quality across seven states.