Judge Orders Refunds For Jan. 6 Defendants After Convictions Vacated

A federal judge has reversed course and ordered full refunds for two Jan. 6 defendants who were pardoned by President Donald Trump, clearing the way for them to recover all restitution payments and fees tied to their…

Andrew PowellDec 4, 20253 min read

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He emphasized that a pardon alone does not guarantee repayment. In July, he relied on a longstanding precedent stating that a presidential pardon does not entitle a defendant to recover money already paid as part of a sentence.

“By itself, defendants’ pardon therefore cannot unlock the retroactive return of their payments that they ask for here,” he wrote, reiterating that this part of the law remains unchanged.

What mattered instead, Boasberg said, was that the D.C. Circuit Vacated their Convictions entirely after the pardon mooted their appeals. Once a conviction is wiped from the books, he explained, everything tied to that conviction must be unwound.

“So even if defendants’ pardon does not entitle them to Refunds, the resulting vacatur of their Convictions might,” he wrote. “In plain English, vacatur — unlike a pardon — ‘wholly nullifies’ the Vacated order and ‘wipes the slate clean.’”

Boasberg went further, addressing whether the government’s sovereign immunity or appropriations rules would prevent repayment. He concluded the court had full authority to order the money returned.

“Because the court could order defendants to pay assessments and restitution, it can order those payments reversed,” he wrote. “Those are two sides of the same action, and sovereign immunity does not stand in the way.”

The ruling is expected to be viewed favorably by Trump allies, some of whom have criticized judges who resisted elements of Trump’s broader Jan. 6-related agenda. Boasberg, however, described his ruling as a straightforward application of the law.

“When a conviction is Vacated, the government must return any payments exacted because of it,” he said.

Earlier this year, Democrats sharply criticized Trump’s mass pardons for Jan. 6 defendants. The late Rep. Gerald Connolly argued the move effectively let participants “off the hook” for an estimated $2.7 billion in damage to the U.S. Capitol.

With Wednesday’s ruling, Ballenger and Price are now entitled to full repayment, closing another chapter in the long legal fallout surrounding Jan. 6.