US President Donald Trump granted clemency to former White House aide Steve Bannon as part of a wave of pardons and commutations issued in his final hours in office, a senior administration official said, but did not pardon himself, members of his family or lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Trump leaves office on Wednesday, when Joe Biden is sworn in as the nation's next president. White House officials had argued to Trump that he should not pardon himself or his family because it might look like they are guilty of crimes, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Trump also pardoned Elliott Broidy, a former top fundraiser for Trump who pleaded guilty last year to violating foreign lobbying laws, and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who was serving a 28-year prison term on corruption charges, a senior administration official said. Rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black who were prosecuted on federal weapons offenses, were also granted pardons.
Bannon, who was a key adviser in Trump's 2016 presidential run, was charged last year with swindling Trump supporters over an effort to raise private funds to build the president's wall on the US-Mexico border. He has pleaded not guilty.
White House officials had advised Trump against pardoning Bannon. The two men have lately rekindled their relationship as Trump sought support for his unproven claims of voter fraud, an official familiar with the situation said.
Giuliani, who has been at the forefront of unsuccessful efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, has not been charged with a crime, but investigators have been probing his activities in Ukraine.
Prominent allies
Bannon, 67, is the latest prominent political ally to receive clemency from Trump, who has often used the powers of the executive branch to reward loyalists and punish his enemies.
Trump previously pardoned former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn for lying to the FBI about his conversation with the former Russian ambassador, and he commuted the prison term for Roger Stone, who was convicted of lying to Congress during its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Bannon can still be charged in state court in New York, where a pardon would not help him, said Daniel R Alonso, a former prosecutor now at the Buckley law firm. Fraud prosecutions are frequently brought by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Alonso said.
Broidy, who was a top fundraiser for Trump during the 2016 campaign, pleaded guilty in October to violating lobbying laws by attempting to influence the administration on behalf of Chinese and Malaysian interests.
Lil Wayne, 38, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr, pleaded guilty in federal court in December to illegally possessing a firearm and faced up to 10 years in prison. He has expressed support for Trump's criminal justice reform efforts.
Kodak Black, 23, who was born Bill Kahan Kapri, is in federal prison for making a false statement in order to buy a firearm.
Here's the full list of pardons:
- Todd Boulanger
- Abel Holtz
- Representative Rick Renzi
- Kenneth Kurson
- Casey Urlacher
- Carl Andrews Boggs
- Jaime A Davidson
- James E Johnson, Jr
- Tommaso Buti
- Bill K. Kapri
- Jawad A Musa
- Adriana Shayota
- Glen Moss
- Anthony Levandowski
- Aviem Sella
- Michael Liberty
- Greg Reyes
- Ferrell Damon Scott
- Jerry Donnell Walden
- Jeffrey Alan Conway
- Benedict Olberding
- Syrita Steib-Martin
- Michael Ashley
- Lou Hobbs
- Matthew Antoine Canady
- Mario Claiborne
- Rodney Nakia Gibson
- Tom Leroy Whitehurst
- Monstsho Eugene Vernon
- Luis Fernando Sicard
- DeWayne Phelps
- Isaac Nelson
- Traie Tavares Kelly
- Javier Gonzales
- Eric Wesley Patton
- Robert William Cawthon
- Hal Knudson Mergler
- Gary Evan Hendler
- John Harold Wall
- Steven Samuel Grantham
- Clarence Olin Freeman
- Fred Keith Alford
- John Knock
- Kenneth Charles Fragoso
- Luis Gonzalez
- Anthony DeJohn
- Corvain Cooper
- Way Quoe Long
- Michael Pelletier
- Craig Cesal
- Darrell Frazier
- Lavonne Roach
- Blanca Virgen
- Robert Francis
- Brian Simmons
- Derrick Smith
- Raymond Hersman
- David Barren
- James Romans
- Jonathon Braun
- Michael Harris
- Kyle Kimoto
- Chalana McFarland
- Eliyahu Weinstein
- John Estin Davis
- Alex Adjmi
- Elliott Broidy
- Stephen K Bannon
- Douglas Jemal
- Noah Kleinman
- Dr Scott Harkonen
- Johnny D Phillips, Jr
- Dr Mahmoud Reza Banki
- Tena Logan
- MaryAnne Locke
- April Coots
- Caroline Yeats
- Jodi Lynn Richter
- Kristina Bohnenkamp
- Mary Roberts
- Cassandra Ann Kasowski
- Lerna Lea Paulson
- Ann Butler
- Sydney Navarro
- Tara Perry
- John Nystrom
- Gregory Jorgensen
- Deborah Jorgensen
- Martin Jorgensen
- Jessica Frease
- Robert Cannon "Robin" Hayes
- Thomas Kenton "Ken" Ford
- Jon Harder
- Scott Conor Crosby
- Chris Young
- Adrianne Miller
- Lynn Barney
- Joshua J Smith
- Amy Povah
- Dr Frederick Nahas
- David Tamman
- Dr Faustino Bernadett
- Paul Erickson
- Kwame Kilpatrick
- Fred "Dave" Clark
- Todd Farha
- Thaddeus Bereday
- William Kale
- Paul Behrens
- Peter Clay
- David Rowland
- Randall "Duke" Cunningham
- William Walters
- Dwayne Michael Carter Jr
- Stephen Odzer
- James Brian Cruz
- Steven Benjamin Floyd
- Joey Hancock
- David E. Miller
- James Austin Hayes
- Drew Brownstein
- Robert Bowker
- Amir Khan
- Shalom Weiss
- Salomon Melgen
- Patrick Lee Swisher
- Robert Sherrill
- Dr. Robert S. Corkern
- David Lamar Clanton
- George Gilmore
- Desiree Perez
- Robert "Bob" Zangrillo
- Hillel Nahmad
- Brian McSwain
- John Duncan Fordham
- William "Ed" Henry
In addition, President Trump commuted the sentences to time served for the following individuals: Jeff Cheney, Marquis Dargon, Jennings Gilbert, Dwayne L Harrison, Reginald Dinez Johnson, Sharon King, and Hector Madrigal, Sr.
Reuters / Newshub.
