Record at a Glance
- Clemency type
- Pardon
- Presidential term
- 2017–2021
- Federal district
- Southern District of New York
- Offense
- Conspiracy; securities fraud; mail fraud; tax fraud; filing false reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); assisting a brokerage firm in violating its net capital requirements
- Sentence
- 24 months' imprisonment (as amended); three years' supervised release; 5,400 hours of community service; $200 million fine (August 5, 1992)
- Current status
- The Milken Institute's current profile identifies him as Chairman.
Original Case
SEC records identify S.D.N.Y. No. S 89 Cr. 0041 (KMW), an April 24, 1990 guilty plea and November 21, 1990 conviction on six counts: conspiracy; aiding and abetting an inaccurate Schedule 13D; securities fraud; aiding and abetting a broker-dealer reporting violation; mail fraud; and assisting a false tax return. The SEC reported a permanent association bar in 1991; this is stated as a historical SEC action, not an unsourced present-tense status conclusion.
Clemency
Trump granted Milken a full pardon on February 18, 2020, nearly three decades after Milken completed his prison term. The grant relieved the continuing federal consequences of the six convictions but did not itself cancel the separate Securities and Exchange Commission orders entered against him.
Trump Connection
Milken’s pardon was supported by a prominent bipartisan group named by the White House, including Sheldon Adelson, Miriam Adelson, Rudy Giuliani, Kevin McCarthy, Rupert Murdoch, Nelson Peltz, and Elaine Chao. The White House emphasized Milken’s cancer research and philanthropy after prison. Trump had also known Milken socially for years, but the public record cited advocacy and post-conviction work—not a judicial defect in the case—as the rationale for clemency.
Since Clemency
2026-02 · professional development
The institute's Cancer 2035 conference agenda identifies Milken as chairman.
Legal Status: Institutional role; no criminal allegation.
- Development Source
Conference agendaMilken Institute
- Development Source
Sources
- Primary Documentation
DOJ: Pardons Granted by President Donald J. Trump (2017–2021)U.S. Department of Justice2026-09-24 - Primary Documentation
DOJ clemency document: Michael Robert MilkenU.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney2026-09-24 active - Primary Documentation
White House clemency announcementArchived White House - Primary Documentation
SEC April 1990 digestU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission - Primary Documentation
SEC March 1991 digestU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission - Supporting Reporting
Milken Institute profileMilken Institute