Trump pardons a labor union leader on the eve of sentencing for failing to report gifts
President Donald Trump bows his head in prayer with others, before delivering the Memorial Day Address at the 157th National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, May 26, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A labor union leader who pleaded guilty to failing to report gifts from an advertising firm was pardoned by President Donald Trump on the eve of his sentencing hearing Wednesday, court records show.
James Callahan, of Lindenhurst, New York, was general president of the International Union of Operating Engineers when he accepted — but failed to properly report — receiving at least $315,000 in tickets to sporting events and concerts and other amenities from a company that the union used to place ads.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes was scheduled to sentence Callahan on Wednesday. On Tuesday, however, Callahan’s attorneys notified the court of Trump’s “full and unconditional” pardon and asked for the sentencing hearing to be vacated.
The pardon itself doesn’t specify why Trump granted him clemency. The White House didn’t explain why Trump pardoned Callahan, whose union endorsed President Joe Biden for reelection over Trump in 2023. Callahan signed a letter that explained the endorsement.
The judge said she was “quite disappointed” to learn of Callahan’s pardon after he accepted responsibility for his criminal conduct, according to a transcript of Wednesday’s hearing.
“I don’t know why you were pardoned,” she said. “You weren’t pardoned because you were wrongfully convicted. You pled guilty to the misdemeanors. You weren’t pardoned because you were missentenced. Sentencing hadn’t even occurred. You weren’t pardoned because the law was somehow unfair, either in general or to you.”
Earlier this month, prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of six months for Callahan, calling him “one of the most powerful union leaders in the country.” They said Callahan’s salary and other compensation topped $500,000 annually. Now retired and living in Florida, he has a net worth of more than $5 million, according to prosecutors.
“That the Operating Engineers were unknowingly funding Defendant Callahan’s spree of pricey entertainments — a lifestyle his substantial salary could easily accommodate — is especially condemning,” they wrote.
Reyes told Callahan that, at a minimum, she would have sentenced him to 500 hours of community service.
“I can’t force you to do community hours. I can’t sentence you to them. But you can do them. No one’s going to stop you from doing them. You want to take your lumps? Do the hours,” she added.
Callahan declined to address the judge apart from saying that he “heard every word you said.”
Reyes pressed lawyers for Callahan and the government on how and when they learned of the pardon.
“Had Mr. Callahan applied for that pardon or it just came out of the blue?” the judge asked.
“Your Honor, I’m not going to answer those questions,” defense attorney David Schertler replied. “I don’t think that’s an appropriate inquiry for the court at this point.”
The judge is holding Callahan’s sentence “in abeyance” — a temporary state of suspension — until prosecutors file a formal request to dismiss the case.
Ed Martin Jr., now the Justice Department’s pardon attorney, was acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia when Callahan pleaded guilty on Jan. 29 to knowingly filing false annual reports with the U.S. Labor Department.
A spokesperson for Martin didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Schertler declined to answer questions about the pardon. He said in an email that Callahan is “extremely grateful for President Trump’s consideration and pardon and the opportunity to get back his life and his reputation.”
Callahan’s plea agreement required him to repay the union $315,000 for the tickets and to immediately resign as union president.
“Those tickets and amenities properly belonged to the Operating Engineers, and yet Defendant Callahan used many of those tickets personally and provided other tickets to members of his family and persons who were not members of the Operating Engineers,” prosecutors wrote.
The Washington-based union that Callahan led represents nearly 400,000 heavy machinery operators on construction and industrial sites throughout the U.S. and Canada.