(CNN) — President Donald Trump issued a series of last-minute pardons and sentencing commutations earlier this Wednesday that include his former political strategist Steve Bannon, a former fundraiser and two well-known rappers – but not him. himself or his family.
The batch of pardons issued on his last day in office was expected and is in keeping with presidential tradition. The vast majority of pardons and commutations on Trump’s list were granted to people whose cases have been promoted by advocates for criminal justice reform, including people serving long sentences for misdemeanors.
But there are a number of controversial names coming up, like Steve Bannon, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of defrauding donors in the “We Build the Wall” online fundraising campaign. Trump had spent the past few days deliberating a pardon for the man who helped him win the presidency in 2016 and followed him to the White House. During his last hours in office there was a frenzied debate behind the scenes over whether to grant Bannon a pardon.
Steve Bannon
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One concern was Bannon’s possible connection to the Jan.6 riot by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
Over the course of Tuesday, Trump continued to contemplate pardons that aides believed were resolved, including that of his former strategist. The president continued to analyze it until Tuesday night, sources told CNN.
Another name on the list is that of Elliott Broidy, a former front-line fundraiser in the Trump campaign who pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count related to a secret lobbying campaign to influence the Trump administration. on behalf of a foreign billionaire in exchange for millions of dollars.
Rapper Lil Wayne received a clemency after pleading guilty to one count of gun possession in Miami. Another rapper, Kodak Black, received a commutation of sentence after pleading guilty to a weapons charge.
Trump also offered clemency to Paul Erickson, conservative political operator and ex-boyfriend of suspected Russian spy Maria Butina, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges; Robin Hayes, a North Carolina political donor convicted of attempting to bribe officials; former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, indicted on federal charges including racketeering, extortion and filing false tax returns; William Walters, a professional bookmaker convicted of insider trading, and Aviem Sella, an Israeli air force officer whom the United States accused of being a spy.
Last minute debate
Trump’s final acts of clemency come after a debate in recent days between advocates of criminal justice reform and various White House officials to finalize the list and convince Trump to approve the actions. These pardons will no doubt be overshadowed by highly controversial ones that Trump also issued in the same final batch on Tuesday.
While outgoing presidents generally grant pardons before leaving office, Trump has proven more willing to use his power of forgiveness to blatantly reward political loyalty, the wealthy and well-connected, and those who did not cooperate with the special counsel’s investigation. Robert Mueller.
The January 6 riots that led to Trump’s second impeachment trial have complicated his desire to pardon himself, his children, and his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, and a source close to the process said these pardons were no longer expected.
After the riot, Trump aides encouraged him to forgo a self-pardon because it would make him appear guilty of some crime, according to a person familiar with the conversations. Several of Trump’s closest advisers have also urged him not to grant clemency to anyone involved in the siege of the U.S. Capitol, despite Trump’s initial stance that those involved had done nothing wrong.
Focused on pardons
After weeks of focusing on contesting the election and recovering from the aftermath of the January 6 insurrection, Trump finally turned his attention to pardons in recent days, a source said.
“You couldn’t get the president to focus on this,” a source close to the process said about Trump in recent weeks. “And then this weekend, he didn’t have his Twitter, he didn’t have all these other distractions.”
Trump, who has sunk deeper into the status of outgoing president in recent weeks, was reminded that his clemency power is one of the aspects of his presidential power that has yet to diminish.
This source said that Trump also echoed cases in which people who went to trial received significantly more time in prison than co-defendants who cooperated with the police.
“I don’t think he likes it when people go broke just because they go to court,” said this source.
While Jared Kushner has been closely involved in pardons during his time in the White House, this source said that Ivanka Trump became much more closely involved in the pardons campaign in recent days.
Together, Kushner and Ivanka Trump collaborated with the White House attorney’s office and the Justice Department as they worked to convince Trump to support a series of clemency actions along the lines of criminal justice reform.
After the meetings this weekend, Trump met again Monday with his daughter, son-in-law and other White House officials to finalize the list of clemency actions.
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