This is a government rule meant to help car owners and mechanics fix things themselves. The idea is that you shouldn’t be locked out of repairing parts of your vehicle, including emissions-related systems.
Emissions controls are the hardware and systems on a vehicle that reduce pollutants coming out of the exhaust. On diesel vehicles, these systems are tightly regulated and often include components that must remain installed and functioning to meet legal emissions limits.
John Deere makes a lot of farm equipment, like tractors. Here it’s brought up because the company can influence how easily owners can diagnose and repair problems.
Kubota makes tractors and other farm machines. The point here is that some tractor brands control the diagnostic tools, which can affect how easy it is to fix problems.
OBD stands for the car’s self-diagnosis system. If it’s “locked,” it can mean the data or tools needed to diagnose problems are restricted, so only certain people (often the manufacturer or authorized partners) can fully access it.
This phrase refers to lawsuits or legal actions about whether diesel vehicles met emissions rules. It usually comes down to whether the truck’s pollution-control systems were working the way the law requires.
Concept
weaponization of the government
This phrase means using government authority in a targeted or unfair way against someone. Here, the claim is that enforcement went beyond what the Constitution allows.
Constitutional rights are the basic legal protections the government is required to follow. The speaker is saying the enforcement may have crossed those legal lines.
This means someone changed a vehicle so its pollution controls don’t work the way they’re supposed to. In court, that’s treated as cheating the emissions rules, not just a normal emissions problem.
This means breaking agency rules, handled through administrative enforcement instead of a criminal case. The speaker is suggesting the conduct should be treated as less serious than a felony.
This is a type of criminal case where the alleged wrongdoing is breaking rules set by government agencies. The speaker is arguing it’s more like a rules violation than a serious criminal act.
Todd Blanche is mentioned as the person who wrote a memo changing how these emissions cases are handled. In the episode, that memo is described as a key reason some people may qualify for a pardon.
The Dodge Ram is a large pickup truck made for tasks like towing trailers and carrying heavy loads. Some versions use diesel engines, which have special rules about emissions. That’s why it can show up in discussions about EPA requirements and related legal issues.
A remanufactured engine is an engine that starts as an older one, then gets rebuilt with new or refurbished parts. The goal is to make it work like it should, without paying for a brand-new engine.
ISO 9001:2015 is a quality standard that companies use to prove they have organized, repeatable processes. The claim here is that the remanufactured engines are built under those quality-controlled procedures.
Quality testing validation means the engine gets checked to make sure it meets certain standards. It’s basically proof that the rebuild isn’t just put together—it’s tested.
A warranty is the guarantee that if something goes wrong within a set time, the company will help pay to fix it. The host is saying their remanufactured engines come with a strong warranty.
An OEM engine is the factory-style engine that matches what the vehicle was originally built with. The host is saying some people want more than a basic factory-style setup.
These labels describe different engine rebuild options for different uses. “Core” is the old engine you turn in to be rebuilt, while “street” and “tow haul” are meant for lighter daily driving versus towing.
Term
speed of air series
“Speed of air series” sounds like a specific set of engine options from the company. The name suggests it’s focused on airflow, but the exact details aren’t explained in this clip.
Pistons are the parts inside the engine cylinders that move up and down to turn fuel combustion into motion. This phrase sounds like a particular piston design or brand that the host says helps the engine run more efficiently and last longer. To know exactly what’s different, you’d need the company’s technical description.
Fuel economy is how far you can drive on a given amount of fuel. If something improves fuel economy, it means the engine is getting more work out of each gallon (or liter).
Torque is the engine’s pulling strength—how hard it can twist the drivetrain. More torque usually means better acceleration and easier pulling, especially when you’re not at high RPM.
Engine life means how long the engine can last before it starts wearing out badly. If a modification improves engine life, it’s usually because it reduces wear or stress on internal parts. The host is saying their piston approach helps with that.
The valve train controls when the engine’s valves open and close. Upgrades usually mean better parts that can handle more stress or help the engine breathe better. That can support higher performance builds.
Connecting rods are the parts that connect the piston to the crankshaft. They help transfer the engine’s power from the pistons to the rest of the drivetrain. Upgraded rods are often used in performance builds to handle higher stress.
The crankshaft is the main rotating shaft inside the engine. It turns the piston motion into the rotation that drives the wheels. Upgrading it is usually about handling more power and torque safely.
Lubricity is how “slippery” the diesel fuel is for the fuel system. If it’s not slippery enough, parts inside the engine’s fuel system can wear out faster and cause costly problems.
Hotshot Secrets is a company that sells diesel fuel additives. In this episode, they’re talking about their product that’s meant to help protect the fuel system and keep injectors cleaner.
Hotshot’s EDT is a specific diesel additive product. The idea is that it helps keep the fuel system and injectors in better shape and improves how the diesel burns.
“Maintenance curve” is a way of saying that as a vehicle gets older, repairs usually get more likely and more expensive. The host’s point is that additives may help you delay that.
“Deletes” are aftermarket mods that remove or disable emissions equipment on a diesel truck. They’re often done to make the truck feel stronger, but they can be illegal because the emissions system is there to keep pollution down.
A “civil case” is a legal case where the government seeks penalties and other remedies, not jail time. Even though it’s not criminal, it can still be very expensive and stressful.
A “tampering violation” means you changed the emissions system in a way it wasn’t meant to be changed. Regulators treat that as illegal because it can increase pollution.
“Diesel defeat” products are made to get around the truck’s emissions controls. “Sales” means people are buying and selling those parts, which is a big target for enforcement.
A “criminal case” is when the government treats something as a crime. The speaker is saying that, in practice, civil cases can sometimes hurt people more than criminal cases.
Concept
pre-emissions truck
A “pre-emissions truck” is a diesel truck from before stricter emissions rules. The host is cautioning that buying one may not be the safe legal shortcut people think it is.
LIVE
Welcome to the diesel podcast presented by DFC diesel.
Stuart, welcome back to the podcast.
How you doing this morning?
I'm doing great.
How are you, Patrick?
I'm doing excellent.
I wanted to connect with you.
There was a lot of major news right before
independent stay as far as some pardons that happened.
And we touched on them a little bit
on a previous episode,
but I thought you'd be the perfect source,
perfect person to chat with
that's making headlines everywhere.
Even outside of automotive, like it's mainstream.
What's going on?
And I thought it'd be great for our audience to know that.
And then also if there's any people
who have had some of these EPA cases
and they're wanting to know how can I apply?
How can I go through this process?
You'd be the person to talk to.
So that's what I wanted to chat with you today about.
Yeah, sounds great.
Happy to answer any questions for the listeners
and I'm always happy to come on the podcast.
Well, I think right before that,
as far as what we saw in the media
was the right to repair executive order.
And so this seems, automotive seems huge
on the national stage with the White House
and other powers that be.
And then I saw a series of people saying,
hey, I was pardoned.
What happened from a legal perspective
or what's just taken place?
Are you referring to a right to repair
or are you referring to departments?
The pardon specifically, but the right to repair
kind of I think put that, I saw clips on Fox
and a bunch of other different places
with the president talking about that.
And then immediately after like in the news cycle,
saw that people were pardoned for some EPA cases they had.
So I really wanted to focus in with you
on the EPA cases and the pardons.
But there seems to be momentum building
with what's taken place with shop owners and mechanics.
Yeah, so I think that President Trump has something
that's really caught his eye
from a domestic policy perspective
and a governmental weaponization perspective
is people who have been charged with felonies
or they've had excessive civil crimes related
or excessive civil fines, I should say,
related to motor vehicle repairs,
whether it's diesel or farm equipment or ag equipment
or boats or planes or whatever.
And he's really interested in this topic.
And I think he should be because it's a big topic
when it comes to domestic policy.
And I think it's a big topic that's a very important
and critical to his base,
which is conservative, blue-collar Trump voters, okay?
And so Troy Lake-Pardon kind of kicked off the party,
but President Trump feels it's really
a weaponization of government, I believe he feels this way.
It's the weaponization of government to be persecuted,
to be charged with criminal charges
when it comes to anything to do with repairing
or modifying your vehicle.
And so once Troy Lake-Pardon went through,
Troy Lake-Pardon went through,
this started to build up energy
and we did have the right to repair announcement
which came out and that right to repair executive order
says that people, individuals are allowed to repair
the emissions controls and the other aspects of their vehicle
without removing the emissions,
they are allowed to do it themselves.
And this really refers back to mostly to agricultural equipment
where John Deere and Kubota
and some of these other tractor manufacturers,
they kind of hold the key when it comes to your locked OBDs
and your ability to repair the problems
that you're having with the vehicle.
So that executive order came out
and then it's been in the news
that Trump was gonna do something big
for the 250th anniversary of America's independence.
First, it was reported I think in the Wall Street Journal
that they were gonna do 250 pardons
for the 250th anniversary,
but I don't know if they got enough
of the kind of applications that they were looking for
or maybe it was hard for the administration
with how busy they are to get everything organized for that.
And so what they did instead is they did 11 pardons
and nine of those pardons that just came out last Friday
on July 3rd were related to diesel emissions cases.
I think it's taken me by surprise
just how this has gained national attention.
Like, I know for you, it's a core of what you do legally.
Doing the podcast, it's been a major topic
for 10 years doing the podcast,
but I never thought it would reach this level
where we would see it at the executive branch
or with the president how important this is.
And I think there might be people listening
who over the years have gotten one of these cases
and a conviction and they think,
well, how do I apply for it?
How do I get it?
And I think there's a ton of confusion there.
Is this, like how would somebody listening right now
be able to have like the best chance to get on this list
or to be able to have a pardon take place?
Yeah, great question.
And there's kind of a lot that goes into it.
So we'll start at the beginning,
which is that the White House,
the Trump White House sees 15,000 pardon applications
for various things every year, okay?
And it grants roughly 1,000 every year
if you exclude the January 6th group,
which was like a blanket pardon.
So if the Trump White House is granting 500 to 1,000
every year that you're talking about,
less than a 5% chance that your pardon application
is gonna be granted.
And it doesn't seem this way in the diesel world
that it's really difficult to get one
because of this news that we just had come out,
which is that Troy Lake got one in November
and then here we are in July and nine more people got them
and everybody else is kind of thinking
that they're next on the list.
And the way there is a lot that goes into creating
an attractive pardon package for the White House.
First of all, there's two pardon offices.
There's the DOJ pardon office that is run by Ed Martin
and there's the White House pardon office
that is run internally to the White House, okay?
And they have a whole staff there.
And the head of the White House pardon office,
her name is Alice Johnson,
she received a pardon from President Trump
and he liked her so much that he actually hired her
to come and evaluate the parts.
And these people are really smart
and they have a very distinctive set of criteria
that they evaluate when they look at parts.
And myself and my colleague, Jeff Doherty,
have been submitting applications to both offices
for probably about the last four or five months.
And what they really wanna see
is they wanna see evidence of weaponization of the government
and specifically the Department of Justice,
the FBI, the EPA, agencies like that,
where somebody had the US government weaponized against them
in a way that really violated their constitutional rights.
And they also wanna see,
and this pertains specifically to the diesel cases,
the emissions tampering cases,
they also really wanna see that people were convicted
of a crime that in their mind wasn't really a crime.
It was more of a regulatory crime
or more of a administrative violation, right?
And so when Todd Blanche's memo came out in January
that said, we're no longer going to treat these as felonies,
that was kind of the first domino to fall
because if the underlying conduct was not a felony,
then why wouldn't people in the tampering space
be eligible for parts, okay?
So if you're getting ready to submit a pardon,
you have to know who to submit it to
and you have to know what they're looking for.
And they're really looking for these weaponization facts
that go along with the felony conviction.
They're also really looking for people
who are Trump supporters,
which in our industry is pretty much everybody
across the board.
And they're looking for people
who are hardworking conservatives,
people who don't have a previous criminal record
and people whose lives have been ruined
or substantially changed by a felony.
So in order to give yourself the best chance of success
to submit a pardon application,
you have to wade through these 15,000 applications
that they get every year
and you have to make yours stand out.
And that's why people have been hiring myself and Jeff
because we know, generally speaking,
kind of the secret sauce that goes into making
these pardon applications successful
and we know how to get them to the right people
so that those people are reviewing them
and they're saying, hey,
I consider this to be a strong application.
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If you had to estimate how many cases would fall
into this diesel space of tampering with emissions,
what kind of number would you throw at it?
Would it be 1,000?
Would it be 10,000?
People were convicted of felonies?
Yeah.
Oh, not nearly that many.
I think nationwide individuals, not companies,
individuals who were convicted of felonies,
the number's probably right around 100.
It's not that many.
Yes, to me, it seemed like more,
and it might be because of where my attention,
you know, it's focused strictly on diesel
and when news has broken over the years,
it kind of jumps out.
I have a spreadsheet of everybody that I know of.
Maybe it's closer to 150 if you take into consideration.
People, like I just got a call the other day
from a guy in Louisiana who was convicted of tampering
and his initial investigation started in 2011.
Wow.
And it wasn't even, it was OBD tampering.
It wasn't even diesel emissions tampering.
And he called me or he wrote me an email
and then we talked on the phone.
I had never heard of his case before.
He was arrested in a SWAT raid at an airport
and then he, it took him like four years
to actually charge him with the felony
and he ended up being convicted
and he reached out to me because I had done the pardons.
But I had never heard his name, no idea who he was.
And he was the first person I've ever,
that he had the earliest investigation
and conviction date of anyone I've ever seen.
Even earlier than H&S.
So, I mean, there are guys out there
that I'm sure that I don't know about
but I have a spreadsheet
and the total number of convictions
for individuals around the country is not that many.
That's what I'm really hoping with this episode
is you're the only person I've ever come across.
And I mean, I search and I pay attention
to a lot of automotive news
that has this specialty in this.
And I mean, we're going back 2011, so 15 years ago,
that someone might come across this conversation
on YouTube or a podcast app
or be able to share it with people
as I want them to be able to turn towards people
like yourself to be able to do this process
if that's what they wanna do,
which I think they all do.
Because it seems to me like a time,
I'm not sure if this is ever going to happen again
or there's ever going to be an administration
that is so sensitive to the issues
that have surrounded a niche of automotive
which is the diesel aftermarket.
And so I want it to be a resource
to reach out to them like what?
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, I live this every single day.
I get calls, I look at cases.
Number one, it's very interesting to me anyway,
but when you've been doing this for as long as I have
and you know that we worked at ATS together
and back in what, 2009, 2010?
Yeah, right around there.
I mean, we've been in the industry for a long time
and when you've been in the industry a long time,
you get to meet a lot of people
and you get to know a lot of people.
And so, I'm happy to be a resource
for anybody who has questions for me.
To stay on that for a second,
how does somebody reach out to you?
Like if they see this episode somewhere
or maybe they saw, you had an article in the New York Times
and I saw that and I'm like,
Stewart's made it big time now,
he's in the New York Times, right?
I don't know about that.
But we do a lot of press,
that's another part of the pardons,
that doing the pardons,
the Trump administration and President Trump
in general looks at the press
and they want to see positive press,
but if they see negative press,
it's not necessarily bad.
If it's negative press on an issue
that President Trump agrees with,
he's not gonna be upset about that probably, right?
All press is good press, I think is what the saying goes.
So you want to be,
if you're trying to get a pardon,
you wanna be able to talk to reporters
or have a representative of yours,
a lawyer or a lobbyist or whoever,
you want them to be able to talk to the press
and advocate for you in the press.
And that's kind of what happened in the New York Times
is that the lady with the New York Times,
she called me up on the phone,
she was really nice and she's like,
hey, I'm doing this story.
And I said, okay.
And she asked me if I had any clients
that she could talk to.
And that's when I put her in touch with Max Berlach,
who obviously was one of the guys who just got the pardon.
We think that the Trump administration
and President Trump monitor the internet,
they monitor all the newspapers,
they monitor all the major news sites,
whether it's mainstream media or conservative media.
And they take that information
and they put it into their cauldron of secret sauce
when it comes to granting a pardon.
And as I'm sure you know, Max Berlach is a super sensitive,
well, he's not sensitive.
He's the kind of guy
who makes a really attractive pardon application
because there were a lot of aggravating factors in his case.
The first biggest aggravating factor
was that he pled guilty to Clean Air Act tampering
in January of 2026, or I'm sorry, in December of 2025,
like three weeks before the Todd Blanche memo came out
decriminalizing tampering.
So the EPA and the U.S. Attorney in Alaska
was trying to ram this guilty plea through
and they actually moved his court sentencing date up
from April of 26th to December of 25th
because they knew that President Trump
and the Trump administration
was gonna do something about tampering.
So he should have never been convicted
in the first place.
Mac is also was a member of the International Guard in Alaska
and his photo is on the U.S. Department of Defense website
as an employee of the Department of Defense.
Now he's not an employee anymore because he's a felony.
So he wanted to join the International Guard.
They're in desperate need of mechanics.
They are in desperate need of people
who can work on planes and trucks and whatever.
And he wants to join the International Guard again
but he couldn't do it before because he was a felon.
So I put, we did a conference call
with the New York Times reporter, her name is Karen,
and Mac and he told her exactly what was going on
with his case and why he felt like
he was deserving of a pardon.
And she wrote it up, I thought, in a very fair way.
And that obviously got the attention
of the Trump administration as somebody
who really qualified for a pardon.
So it is possible, say you've been convicted
of diesel tampering, felony tampering conviction.
It is possible that you can fill up a pardon application
and you can send it in and you will get your pardon.
It, I think John Ackmeyer is a great example.
Just got a pardon, he filled his in and sent it away.
But if you wanna give yourself the best chance to do it,
you need to hire someone to advocate for you
with the administration and with the Department of Justice
to let them know exactly why it is
that you deserve a pardon and to let them know
exactly why it is that you qualify
and any one of these other 15,000 per year candidates
don't qualify.
And you have to kind of know what the secret sauce is
and you have to kind of know who to talk to.
And if you do that, then your chances go up.
There's no guarantee that you're gonna get a pardon
even for something that Trump seems to be granting
pardons for because he feels very strongly about it.
But it gives you the best opportunity to do it.
And that's what I tell people who contact me.
I've gotten a lot of phone calls
from people who've been convicted to tampering.
And they're all like, how do I get the pardon?
And I said, well, you can hire me
and you can hire Jeff, who's my colleague
who I've worked very closely with.
And you can go through our process and it's expensive
but we know that we're gonna be able to get your pardon
application in front of the right people.
Or you can submit it yourself and you can hope for the best
and it's certainly possible that they're gonna do
a bunch more of these types of pardons.
But, you know, that's a lesser chance
that you're gonna be able to get the pardon.
And I've gotten calls from some people who are like,
you know what, I got a felony, who cares?
Like, it's not worth the money to me
to hire you to send in my application.
I might do it on my own, but really it hasn't affected
my life, I have my own business,
I don't have any trouble getting a loan or whatever.
And so it's really all different types of people.
I think one of the things that's really hit me hard
is some people, I've gotten to know them
really well over the years professionally.
And sometimes that bleeds over a bit into personally.
And I've understood and gotten to hear the pain
that some of these cases have caused with,
they were passionate about voting,
they were passionate about their other rights that they have.
And it's really taken a toll on them.
So that's kind of been my experience
because of the personal relationships that I've had.
So I always think of that when any of these cases
have happened or any of the stories you've told me,
you know, I think, you know, this is somebody
who has lost a lot and, you know,
I can understand that idea to just do it yourself.
But I know for others, it's so important
with the things that they lost that they want
the best chance that they have.
And so I think that's what I think is important
to connect people to today and with you.
And I wanted to have that opportunity
so the people that hear this, if they wanna do that,
they have the best chance to make it happen.
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, to me, you know, to me,
it really depends on what your situation is.
There's a lot of benefits to getting apart
and not being a thought.
The biggest one is probably gun rights, gun ownership
and being able to possess and use guns.
That has the most immediate and important impact
on someone's life, especially if they're a hobbyist
or a sportsman or a hunter, right?
You can't go hunting anymore with your kids.
You can't teach your kids how to go hunting.
You can't harvest your own food.
That's the most immediate real life aspect, in my opinion.
The second most is probably international travel.
I mean, you can't really go to certain places in Europe.
You can't go to Canada.
If you have a felony on your record,
there's a lot of places you can't travel to
if you're a felon and that makes a really big difference.
If you want to go on a family vacation to,
who knows, you know, London, right?
Like they may not let you in.
You may not be able to be admitted to there
or you just want to drive across the border to Canada.
You can't do that.
Voting is an important,
it's our most important constitutional right
and it's certainly very important to be able to vote
for candidate of your choosing.
Does it really matter in the scheme of things?
Probably not on an individual basis for the,
you know, 150 people who are convicted of tampering.
Does that make it any less important to them?
Does it make it any less important
as a fundamental right as an American?
Probably not, right?
So there's a lot of reasons to get a pardon.
Big one is financial.
I mean, there's a lot of banks,
a lot of lenders who won't lend to people if they're felons.
And, you know, like I know that Ryan Wade Lillone,
who I think you're gonna have on the podcast,
I know that they had a terrible time getting bank loans
after Ryan in particular was convicted of a felony tampering.
So, you know, that's another really big,
immediate real world impact.
There are a lot of lenders who will lend if you're a felon,
but it's just a lot harder.
Your rates are a lot worse, you know, all that good stuff.
So these pardons are a full restoration of rights
that people had.
Yes, you still show up as having been convicted
of a felony, the pardon wipes out all of your,
all of the consequences of being a felon,
including potentially restitution
and financial penalties, okay?
So one of the big reasons that we did the application
for Ryan Wade Lillone is because they had a massive fine
that they couldn't possibly hope to pay.
And they were not able to pay it.
And by getting the felony, it's our belief
and we haven't gone all the way down this road,
but we think that the case is,
is that the financial penalty and any restitution
that might be due is wiped out.
So that's a different kind of thing, though.
There aren't too many people
who still haven't paid their full fine yet.
There's some out there and there's some
that had really big fines like Ryan and Wade,
but that's another major impact for the pardon.
Common question we get from you guys a lot is,
hey, I need a diesel engine.
I either, I can't wait this long to get one
or normal place I get stuff from it.
It just takes too long or I don't,
they don't have the parts in it that I need.
Maybe my truck's not stock or I tow heavy with it.
I don't wanna go back with just a stock engine.
DFC Diesel is a sponsor of the podcast.
We worked with them hand in hand on doing episodes.
They answered technical questions.
They have a complete lineup of Cummins,
Duramax and Powerstroke remanufactured engines
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the type of quality that's built behind it
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that's really comprehensive.
And the other thing with that is,
sometimes the options that are out there,
it's just, it's a basic OEM engine.
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You don't wanna have the same failure again.
So there's a bunch of different series of engines
that they have from core, street, tow haul,
and also the speed of air series,
which we've covered on the podcast before.
There's a lot of really cool benefits to it.
And if you have questions about that, reach out to them.
If you don't know the type of engine
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there's a ton of info there.
You can send an email or you can reach out to them.
Also, they're working with speed of air pistons,
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And there's a lot of really cool technology behind it.
So you can add that into your build
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Some of the most common engine applications
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a lot of them are in stock
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So you can check your favorite retailer
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If you have questions, maybe you want to do something
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They have tons of choices for rods, cranks, pistons,
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So if you're in the market, definitely make sure
and hit on over and check them out.
Hey, diesel fans, I wanted to chat with you about diesel fuel.
It's something we've talked about a lot on the podcast
and specifically ways that it can lead
to a lot of costly repairs.
And the main reason that we have these issues
is a lack of lubricity.
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I wanted to normally ask you this at the end,
but I thought it'd be great right now for someone
who is in this position, they're listening
and they want to reach out to you.
What's the best way?
Is it via email?
What's the website to be able to connect with your firm
for someone who will reach out?
You can send me an email.
It's stewartstewart at Hassancables.com.
That's H-A-S-S-A-N-C-A-B-L-E-S.
You can just look me up on the internet
and then you can see our website.
You can send us emails through the website.
That's easy enough.
And then if you want to send me a text message,
it's probably the best way to get a hold of me.
You just text me a 303-249-9994,
which is also listed on the website.
So any of those ways that you decide
you want to get a hold of me, you certainly can do that.
We're not only doing diesel partons.
We're taking on partons for anyone
who has had the government weaponized against them.
Tax, evasion, any kind of environmental crime,
things like that.
We don't know whether or not those partons
are likely to be granted or not
considering the administration's position
on various different things.
But I'll tell you, Jeff and I take very few partons.
We take very few that we think qualify to make it
and get granted.
And of the six parton applications
that we submitted in this last group,
five of them were granted.
And the reason that those five were granted
is because we're very, very selective
about the ones we take on.
So keep that in mind for the listeners.
I mean, like I said, it's expensive.
It depends on what kind of facts you have in your case,
how expensive it is.
But we don't take on all the applicants
who want us to work for them
because we don't think that they're gonna fit the criteria
to give the best chance of success.
Kind of reminds me of sometimes
in the course of doing a podcast
or covering different topics,
sometimes people will wanna repair their truck on their own
and they can either make it worse or it doesn't get fixed.
And then they decide to take it to the diesel shop
that's worked on thousands or tens of thousands of trucks.
It just kind of reminds me of that same sort of example
with something like this is it seems highly complex.
It seems completely out of the wheelhouse
of what being a business owner is,
anything you would ever know how to do.
And that's where connecting with someone like yourself
and your team.
Yeah, and I appreciate you drawing attention to that.
We're, Jeff, who you should have on the podcast
at some point, he is a really, really interesting guy
and a really cool guy.
He lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
He's the one who spearheaded it.
I wasn't involved in Troy Lakesburn
and Jeff spearheaded that entire thing.
And he is a really interesting guy
and the reason I bring him up when you're talking about
getting people in the right hands
is that there's a lot of people out there,
charlatans will call them who are selling access
to the president for a million dollars
and all this other crap.
And you can't really believe those people
that they're able to get the pardons
that you're looking for.
But you wanna go with somebody
who's got an established track record
and that would be Jeff for sure.
That's an excellent point to make.
I didn't even think of how some people
might try to take advantage of someone
that's either desperate or, I guess, hurting or just,
I didn't know that happened.
Paying us your life savings,
I'll talk to the president directly and get you a pardon.
That's what we hear.
Pay me a million dollars, pay me $2 million.
I have a cousin who's a member of Mar-a-Lago.
She sees the president all the time.
That kind of stuff is no good.
We don't feel like that's ethical.
Yeah, that makes sense.
I'm glad you brought that up
in case somebody does come across that.
They know.
I wanted to transition just a little bit.
It's still on the same topic.
But one of the major things this whole year,
I think when the announcement happened
about not being a felony
or people being charged with felonies
for working on vehicles,
I wouldn't call them mainstream.
I mean, I don't find them credible,
but they get a lot of views.
They get a lot of traction on different platforms
that there's no enforcement at all.
And we were talking before the podcast a little bit.
You mentioned the civil stuff.
Like you're still getting a ton of that.
And so I wanted to bring attention to that as well
because some of these people have told me
like the financial side of it has ruined their lives.
It ruined relationships.
It's destroyed everything.
Financial stress for years.
So it's not just like you get a bill in the mail
and then you make payments on it and it's done.
It seems more complex than that.
He talked to me a little bit about what you've seen
over the last, since 2025, 2026 with the civil side.
So great question.
I feel like every time I get on the podcast,
I'm telling people not to do this anymore.
Deletes are not legal.
Corey Willis is really good about getting out online
and reminding people that deletes are not legal.
Really important to consider.
I've gotten probably eight new, within the last two months,
eight new civil cases,
enforcements from all over the country.
The EPA is still enforcing on tampering violations.
Still enforcing on diesel defeat sales, manufacturing.
They have not backed off, well, I'll take that back.
They backed off a little bit, right?
But they have not stopped for sure.
And if you keep selling, you keep installing,
you keep tampering, you're gonna get a civil violation.
Don't underestimate the power of the EPA
to ruin your life through a civil case.
I've seen civil cases take a much higher toll
than criminal cases.
I've seen people plead guilty to felonies.
They pay $20,000 for a lawyer.
They immediately plead out.
They take the felony, it doesn't affect them at all.
And then their penalty is like $10,000.
I've seen that happen.
I've also seen private parties pay
into the millions of dollars for civil violations.
So you gotta be really careful about going around
saying that diesel defeats are legal.
You can do them now right to repair.
I'm gonna install my own defeat on my own vehicle.
Who's gonna manufacture it?
Who's gonna manufacture the delete
that you install under your vehicle under right to repair?
Whoever's doing that is breaking the law, right?
So whoever installs it,
if they're not the individual that owns the vehicle,
they're breaking the law.
So right to repair is great.
It's not legalizing deletes.
It's not a silver bullet.
It's not something that people should,
it's a step in the right direction is what it is.
So I would encourage everybody
to just not buy a pre-emissions truck,
don't do any deletes, buy a deleted truck,
which technically may not be legal,
but at least you're not tampering with it.
And don't do it unless there's been an act of Congress
that modifies the Clean Air Act
or clarifies the Clean Air Act to say
that this is legal to do.
And if that happens, we'll have you on the podcast first
to be able to clarify it.
Well, I'll say the same thing.
It's still not worth it, but we'll see what happens.
We got another six months for Congress to do something.
Hopefully we'll see.
Well, I appreciate you chatting with me about it
on short notice.
It's something that like I said,
because the personal relationships,
and I'm sure you have them as well,
but a minus covering news and trends
and things that have been going on for diesel for 10 years
is getting to know these people, how it affects them,
and then seeing places, I don't wanna say,
maybe they do encourage it.
And I'm talking about influencers
or social media personalities.
There are some people out there who are encouraging it.
It's stupid.
Yeah.
They're like, you see the news?
Defeats are legal now.
It's like, no, idiot.
Well, yeah, and you've told me stories.
I've had a lot of people on over the years
and they, I guess to me, it's the emotional side
and the personal side that really hits hard
because I know they're passionate about their rights,
their business, the things that they can do,
and it just gets destroyed.
So I think it's been encouraging to see these parts happen.
I appreciate you shedding light on how that process works.
Anyone who listens, I hope they do connect with you,
someone who can help them to be able to have the chance
to get it done.
And as always, I appreciate your expertise, Stuart.
All right, thanks a lot.
I'm happy to come on and I'm sure we'll talk soon.
Don't forget, Decile fans, make sure and head on over
to kershaw.kaiusa.com.
Use code TDP402026 for 40% off MSRP.
It's a great way to save some money, get some cool gear
if you're on the market for a new knife or hunting,
fishing, EDC, round the job, side around the house.
Then we got you covered with a bunch of different choices
for blade steel, blade shape, different handle designs,
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They've had a bunch of new releases in 2026.
So again, if you're in the market,
head on over to kershaw.kaiusa.com.
Use code TDP402026 and get 40% off MSRP.
Also want to give a shout out to some of our Patreon supporters,
Robert, TSW, Decile, John, all of our other Patreon supporters,
all of you who subscribe on YouTube and podcast apps,
follow us on social media.
We appreciate all your support here in year 10
of the Decile podcast and look forward to bringing you
more of the content that you want to hear in 2026.
Till next time, keep the shiny side up.
About this episode
Recent EPA “pardons” and the legal odds behind them take center stage, with a lawyer explaining how people with prior emissions-tampering cases can apply and what evidence matters. The discussion connects the “right to repair” executive order to emissions-control repairs that don’t remove equipment, while warning that “deletes” still aren’t legal. Procedurally, the White House receives “15,000 pardon applications” and grants about “1,000” per year, making outcomes highly selective. The episode also covers what pardons can restore financially and legally.
Can you delete your truck now? Can the EPA still fine you? Did the
recent EPA pardons actually change anything?
In this episode of The Diesel Podcast, attorney Stewart D. Cables breaks
down what the recent EPA pardons actually mean for diesel truck owners,
repair shops, tuners, and the aftermarket industry. We separate fact
from fiction and explain what changed, what didn't change, and what you
should know before making any decisions.
If you've been wondering whether diesel deletes are legal again, whether
EPA emissions enforcement has changed, or what these pardons really
mean, this conversation provides a factual legal explanation without the
rumors or misinformation circulating online.
Topics covered:
• Can you legally delete your diesel truck?
• Can the EPA still issue fines?
• What the recent EPA pardons actually changed
• What they did NOT change
• How federal emissions enforcement works
• What diesel owners and repair shops should know moving forward
Stewart D. Cables is a founding partner of Hassan + Cables. Stewart
specializes in general business representation and a variety of trial
work. Stewart's practice areas include complex civil litigation,
employment law, criminal and DUI defense, transactional work for
corporations and LLCs, and counsel for non-profit entities.
Stewart D. Cables is a founding partner of Hassan + Cables. Stewart
specializes in general business representation and a variety of trial
work. Stewart's practice areas include complex civil litigation,
employment law, criminal and DUI defense, transactional work for
corporations and LLCs, and counsel for non-profit entities.
Stewart Cables
E: [email protected]
P: 303-625-1025 ext.2
https://www.hassancables.com/stewart-d-cables
--------------------------------
Disclaimer: This video is for general information purposes only. It is
not intended to provide legal advice of any kind. No one should act, or
refrain from acting, based solely upon the information provided on this
podcast, without first seeking appropriate legal or other professional
advice.
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