{"slug":"trump-pardons-political-allies-first-term","title":"Presidential Pardons: Political Allies and Corrupt Officials Pardoned","date":"2019-11-15","lastUpdated":"2021-01-20","description":"Trump used the presidential pardon power in unprecedented ways to benefit political allies who had been convicted or faced prosecution for crimes committed in connection with Trump's political activities. Pardons included Paul Manafort (convicted of tax fraud, bank fraud, and foreign lobbying violations in connection with his work for the Trump campaign), Roger Stone (convicted of obstruction and witness tampering in the Mueller investigation), Michael Flynn (convicted of lying to the FBI), Steve Bannon (indicted for defrauding Trump's own supporters through a border wall fundraising scheme), and others. Nearly all were connected to Trump's political activities.","summary":"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.","category":"corruption","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/us/politics/trump-pardons.html","title":"Trump Issues Wave of Pardons on Last Day in Office","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-pardons-political-allies/2021/01/20/story.html","title":"Trump's pardons: A pattern of protecting political allies","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-pardons-allies-manafort-stone-flynn","title":"Trump pardons Manafort, Stone, Flynn in final months and days","publisher":"The Associated Press"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["pardons","corruption","first-term","Manafort","Stone","Flynn","Bannon"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2019-11-15","title":"Roger Stone sentenced — DOJ override, prosecutors resign","summary":"Roger Stone is convicted on 7 counts. After DOJ overrides prosecutors' sentencing recommendation, four prosecutors resign. Trump begins publicly suggesting he may pardon Stone."},{"date":"2020-07-10","title":"Trump commutes Stone's sentence — 4 days before prison","summary":"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.'"},{"date":"2020-11-25","title":"Flynn pardoned before sentencing","summary":"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."},{"date":"2020-12-23","title":"Manafort and Stone fully pardoned","summary":"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."},{"date":"2021-01-19","title":"Bannon pardoned — awaiting trial for defrauding Trump supporters","summary":"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."},{"date":"2021-01-20","title":"143 final pardons — last day","summary":"Trump issues 143 final pardons and commutations on his last day in office, including Jared Kushner's father, rapper Lil Wayne, and Elliott Broidy."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C.","lat":38.9072,"lng":-77.0369},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"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","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President; issued pardons to political allies convicted in connection with his political activities; used pardon power in unprecedented concentration on political associates","institution":"White House"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2021-01-20","summary":"Updated with final day pardons."}]}}