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Presidential Pardons: Political Allies and Corrupt Officials Pardoned

Trump issued 143 pardons and commutations, including a final batch of 143 on his last day in office. Analysts documented that a disproportionate share of Trump's pardons went to political allies, relatives of political allies, or individuals whose cases were connected to Trump's political interests. The pardons of Manafort, Stone, Flynn, and Bannon were specifically notable because each had been convicted or charged in connection with conduct related to Trump's political activities, and each received executive clemency. The final day pardons also included Steve Bannon, who was awaiting trial.

Record summary

Grade

Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power

Executive actions that exceed constitutional authority, circumvent statutory constraints, or weaponize government institutions for political ends. Scale and definitions

Status
Concluded
Incident date
Record updated
Location
Washington, D.C.
Category
Corruption & Self-Dealing
Legal posture
Reported
War-crime classification
Enabling conduct
Verification
Independently verified
ICC relevance
No
Sources
3 cited
Stable ID
trump-pardons-political-allies-first-term
Victims
Rule of law norms; victims of crimes committed by pardoned individuals; public trust in the pardon power as a check on excessive punishment rather than a tool for protecting political allies
Alleged responsible parties
  • Donald Trump, President; issued pardons to political allies convicted in connection with his political activities; used pardon power in unprecedented concentration on political associates— White House

Key points

  • Paul Manafort, who shared internal Trump campaign polling data with a Russian intelligence-linked operative, was convicted of tax fraud, bank fraud, and foreign lobbying violations; he was pardoned December 23, 2020, after serving less than two years of his 7.5-year sentence
  • Roger Stone was convicted on seven counts including witness tampering, obstruction, and lying to Congress in the Mueller investigation; Trump commuted his sentence July 10, 2020 — four days before he was to report to prison; Stone was fully pardoned December 23, 2020; four prosecutors resigned from the case after DOJ overrode their sentencing recommendation
  • Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security advisor, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian Ambassador Kislyak; Trump pardoned him on November 25, 2020, before sentencing; the pardon covered any crimes he may have committed through January 20, 2017 — an unusually broad scope
  • Steve Bannon was indicted in August 2020 for defrauding Trump's own supporters: his 'We Build the Wall' fundraising scheme raised $25 million from Trump supporters, of which over $1 million allegedly went to Bannon personally; Trump pardoned him on his last day in office before trial; Bannon was later separately convicted in state court
  • The final batch of pardons — 143 on January 19–20, 2021 — included pardons for rapper Lil Wayne (who had endorsed Trump), former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and Elliott Broidy (former RNC finance chair who had pleaded guilty to foreign lobbying violations); Jared Kushner's father Charles Kushner was also pardoned
  • Scholars of the pardon power documented that Trump's pardons were more concentrated among political allies and less likely to involve the standard DOJ pardon attorney review process than any president in the modern era; roughly half of his pardons bypassed the standard review

Overview

The pattern of Trump's pardons was documented: a disproportionate share went to political allies convicted or charged in connection with Trump's political activities. Manafort, Stone, Flynn, Bannon — each had been in legal jeopardy in part because of their proximity to Trump. Each received a pardon.

The pardon power is constitutionally absolute. The pattern of its use was unprecedented.

Manafort

Paul Manafort shared detailed Trump campaign polling data with a Russian intelligence-linked operative. He was convicted of crimes unrelated to the polling data sharing — tax fraud, bank fraud, foreign lobbying violations accumulated over years. He was sentenced to 7.5 years and served less than two.

The pardon came on December 23, 2020.

Stone

Roger Stone was convicted of lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstruction — crimes he committed to protect information that could have damaged Trump. When prosecutors recommended a standard sentence, the DOJ overrode them. Four prosecutors resigned. Trump commuted the sentence before Stone reported to prison, then issued a full pardon.

Bannon

Steve Bannon was charged with defrauding Trump's own supporters — the people who donated $25 million to build a private border wall, a million dollars of which allegedly went to Bannon personally. Trump pardoned him before trial, on his second-to-last day in office.

The victims of the fraud were Trump voters. Trump pardoned the alleged perpetrator.

The Pardon Attorney

The Justice Department's pardon attorney process exists to ensure clemency decisions are made on the merits — with review of the record, input from prosecutors, and consideration of the petitioner's conduct and rehabilitation. Roughly half of Trump's pardons bypassed this process entirely.

Update log

  1. Updated with final day pardons.

Sequence of events

  1. Roger Stone sentenced — DOJ override, prosecutors resign

    Roger Stone is convicted on 7 counts. After DOJ overrides prosecutors' sentencing recommendation, four prosecutors resign. Trump begins publicly suggesting he may pardon Stone.

  2. Trump commutes Stone's sentence — 4 days before prison

    Trump commutes Stone's 40-month prison sentence 4 days before he was to report to prison. He characterizes Stone as the victim of a 'witch hunt.'

  3. Flynn pardoned before sentencing

    Trump pardons Michael Flynn, covering Flynn's admitted crimes and any other crimes through January 20, 2017. The pardon is issued before sentencing in Flynn's case.

  4. Manafort and Stone fully pardoned

    Trump issues full pardons to Paul Manafort and Roger Stone on December 23, 2020. Both had been convicted of crimes in connection with Trump-related investigations.

  5. Bannon pardoned — awaiting trial for defrauding Trump supporters

    Trump pardons Steve Bannon on his second-to-last day in office. Bannon was awaiting trial for allegedly defrauding Trump's own supporters in the 'We Build the Wall' scheme.

  6. 143 final pardons — last day

    Trump issues 143 final pardons and commutations on his last day in office, including Jared Kushner's father, rapper Lil Wayne, and Elliott Broidy.

Sources

  1. Trump Issues Wave of Pardons on Last Day in Office — The New York Times
  2. Trump's pardons: A pattern of protecting political allies — The Washington Post
  3. Trump pardons Manafort, Stone, Flynn in final months and days — The Associated Press

How this record was published

Manually curated This entry was added directly and does not carry an automated audit trail.

About our editorial methodology →

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