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Nikola's CEO, Trevor Milton pardoned by Trump

Trevor Miltonfounder of the truck manufacturer $NKLA is currently at the center of a controversial connection between political donations, legal proceedings and a controversial pardon.

Milton was convicted in October 2022 in a high-profile trial convicted of securities and wire fraud. It was triggered by false statements about Nikola's technology that deliberately misled investors.

The court imposed a four-year prison sentenceand in March 2025 prosecutors demanded restitution of restitution of 676 million US dollars - including 660.8 million for defrauded investors and 15.1 million for a creditor.

Of note are Milton's major political donations to Republican organizations between September and October 2024, documented in

FEC-Aufzeichnungen. In total, he transferred 2.14 million US dollarsincluding:

920k USD to the "Trump 47 Committee" (10/2024),
284k USD to the Republican National Committee (10/2024),
56.6kUSD to the Kennedy Victory Fund (10/2024).
Milton had not made any political donations prior to 2024, which raises questions about timing.

Milton's defense took over Brad Bondia renowned lawyer from the law firm Paul Hastings LLP, who had already represented $TSLA (-0.68%) and other companies. Bondi's sister, Pam Bondi, has held the office of US Attorney General. This family connection is currently leading to accusations of a conflict of interest, especially since President Donald Trump appointed Milton to the March 27, 2025 a "full and unconditional pardon" issued. The pardon not only released Milton from prison, but also exonerated him from paying the 676 million US dollars.

Critics see this as a classic Quid-pro-Quo-Szenariowhere political favors can be bought through financial contributions.

18 Comments

Hennington Research@HennRes

What a bunch of losers

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Ph1l1pp@Ph1l1pp

When are posts about Biden's questionable pardons coming? Everything I read from you here is strongly in one direction only. To then present yourself as an "analyst" is moronic. You don't respond to actual substantive comments from me because you have no macroeconomic knowledge... It's a shame really

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Hennington Research@HennRes

@Ph1l1pp 1. i was not particularly active at the time of Hunter Biden's pardon, and of course the pardon is absolutely critical & ethically indefensible. Of course, my criticism of Biden is not necessarily a small one either, his foreign policy towards Russia has been sluggish, support for Europe and Ukraine too little. The same goes for the Europeans.

2. i post what is current, what Trump is doing is current, you are welcome to go into it, you also explicitly wrote "calling bullshit" in the signal post. The facts are clear and if the White House confirms this then even more so.

3. it all goes in one direction. Yes, you're right, as an ex-transatlanticist and pro-European, I agree that what the Americans are currently doing in terms of foreign policy is chaos. I think I can also put it in perspective. I am a member of the Academic Forum for Foreign Policy, a member of the Young United Nations Association, hold a diploma in diplomacy, study political science in addition to my studies in economics and law and am also involved in other student organizations (stock exchanges & global macro clubs) + I run a Getquin site that deals with exactly these topics. Additionally I am very familiar with platforms like S&P Capital IQ, Bloomberg Terminal & Orbis as they are in my daily use.

4. i cannot respond to all comments as i may not have time.

5. i think especially on the macro perspective i am probably the main account on Getquin, (feedback from outsiders would be appreciated for confirmation or contradiction), at least i honestly can't think of any other.

6. i always stick to facts, all facts i explain or state are based on facts and sources. Pictures are included. The work is cleanly done. I stick to the discourse theory and confirm this again and again in my posts

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Hennington Research@HennRes

@HennRes Plus point: I also hold a Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst certificate from CFI

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Ph1l1pp@Ph1l1pp

@HennRes that's all very well for you, but it has only limited relevance to your understanding of macroeconomics. Especially something like the certificate from CFI... and your degree program only teaches superficial concepts... I also have access to something like Bloomberg Terminal, S&P Capital IQ and Orbis, albeit only through contacts/friends, because I'm studying medicine instead

To summarize, the supposed qualification you have produced has very little to do with actual macroeconomic understanding

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Hennington Research@HennRes

@Ph1l1pp 1. you haven't addressed a single bullet point. So much for that.

2 😂What do you expect now? I'm actively studying economics, and of course I have macroeconomics. Guess what not just one course but several and even several courses, guess what my specialization is macroeconomics, I am in a Global Macro Club, where workshops etc. are done with banks, insurers etc.. CFI FMVA is the second highest there is, after CFA, in terms of this field. Of course I'm not a professor, but do you have to be a professor to explain macroeconomics or correlations? If yes then we have a problem because then 99.9% are not allowed to say anything here including you.

What do you want to hear? I don't have to prove anything to you. Besides, according to your argumentation theory it would mean that you are even less qualified to talk about macro topics. Medicine has 0 to do with economics. Am I denying you competence? No.

According to your logic, I am therefore much better qualified than you, both in foreign policy

So I can also accuse you of only teaching rough stuff in your medical studies. Based on what facts?

That's trivializing the circumstances.

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Ph1l1pp@Ph1l1pp

@HennRes What am I supposed to respond to? That you weren't active at the time? -> How am I supposed to know that?

I just wanted to point out that despite your studies and some ominous clubs, your macroeconomic understanding is apparently not sufficient to understand the US situation in its entirety... take another look at my one comment :)

My criticism was directed at your supposed qualifications that have nothing to do with your actual knowledge, which you apparently didn't understand - since you equated my studies with my knowledge 🤦🏻‍♂️

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Hennington Research@HennRes

@Ph1l1pp top, but according to your argumentation theory you are not qualified & competent enough to judge the current situation in the USA

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Ph1l1pp@Ph1l1pp

@HennRes either you're not listening to me, or your own cognitive dissonance is preventing you from understanding your own words 😂

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Hennington Research@HennRes

@Ph1l1pp then please enlighten me, where am I wrong?

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