World News | Trump's Last-minute Pardons Included Ex-strategist Steve Bannon, 73 Others
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. Outgoing President Donald Trump has pardoned his former political strategist Steve Bannon, one of the key architects of his 2016 electoral victory, as he issued a wave of pardons using the final hours of his presidency to grant clemency to 143 people.
Washington, Jan 20 (PTI) Outgoing President Donald Trump has pardoned his former political strategist Steve Bannon, one of the key architects of his 2016 electoral victory, as he issued a wave of pardons using the final hours of his presidency to grant clemency to 143 people.
The record 73 pardons and 70 commutations came in addition to the dozens of similar actions that Trump took after he lost the November 3 presidential elections to Joe Biden of the Democratic Party.
Biden, 78, will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States on Wednesday.
The White House in a statement issued on Wednesday said that Trump granted a full pardon to Bannon, who was in charge of the final months of his 2016 presidential campaign.
Bannon was indicted in August when New York federal prosecutors charged him and three others with defrauding donors of more than a million dollars as part of an online fundraising campaign purportedly aimed at supporting Trump's border wall.
The White House in its statement said Bannon has been an important leader in the conservative movement and is known for his political acumen.
Besides Bannon, other pardon recipients included Elliott Broidy, a former top fundraiser for Trump's campaign who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy relating to a secret lobbying campaign to influence the Trump administration on behalf of a foreign billionaire in exchange for millions of dollars, and Ken Kurson, a friend of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner who was charged last October with cyberstalking during a heated divorce.
Trump also granted a full pardon to rapper Lil Wayne who had pleaded guilty to a gun possession charge in Miami.
Another rapper, Kodak Black, received a commutation after he pleaded guilty to a weapons charge.
Brett Berish of Sovereign Brands, who supports a pardon for Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter, described him as “trustworthy, kind-hearted and generous,” the White House said.
Wayne has "exhibited this generosity through commitment to a variety of charities, including donations to research hospitals and a host of foodbanks," it said.
He also pardoned former Republican Congressman P Rick Renzi of Arizona. In 2013, Renzi was convicted of extortion, bribery, insurance fraud, money laundering, and racketeering. He was sentenced to two years in Federal prison, two years of supervised release, and paid a USD 25,000 fine.
Before his conviction, Renzi served three terms in the House of Representatives.
Trump also commuted the prison sentence of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who has served about seven years behind bars for a racketeering and bribery scheme.
Trump has already pardoned his longtime associates and supporters, including his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort; Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law; his longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone; and his former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)