Tag Archives: Trump pardons

The Charleston Post & Courier reports: In the waning days of Donald Trump’s presidency, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott secured a pardon for a pastor he applauded for becoming a model citizen after being convicted in a cocaine bust in the 1990s. Less widely known: the man is Scott’s cousin. Securing a presidential pardon is a rare feat. Some 143 pardons …

The New York Times reports: One hacked the computers of business rivals. One bribed doctors to win referrals for his nursing homes. Another fled the country while he was on trial for his role in a fraud that siphoned $450 million from an insurance company, leading to its collapse. Still another ran a Ponzi scheme that plunged a synagogue into …

The Atlantic reports: Soon after the November election, a business colleague of Donald Trump’s close ally Corey Lewandowski offered a whistleblower and convicted ex-banker an expensive deal: In exchange for a $300,000 fee up front—plus another $1 million if successful—the two men would push the then-president for a pardon, according to the ex-banker and an associate who heard the pitch. …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump’s full pardon of Duncan Hunter isn’t playing well in the convicted congressman’s home turf — even among GOP conservatives that have supported Trump. Jon Fleischman, a former state GOP vice chair, is among a crowd of conservative Californians who excoriated the decision on Wednesday. Other loyal Republicans who have supported the president went public with …

The Hill reports: Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) on Wednesday blasted President Trump’s latest pardons of political allies such as and political adviser Roger Stone as “rotten to the core.” Sasse issued his statement Wednesday evening, specifically mentioning Manafort and Stone. “This is rotten to the core,” he said in a terse one-liner. The statement by Sasse said that “felons like …

Axios reports: President Trump plans to issue a wave of pardons today, moving to expedite acts of clemency before Christmas, according to a source with direct knowledge and advocates who have been briefed on the plans. What to watch: Trump has been considering pardons for friends and allies, as Axios reported, interrupting conversations with associates to spontaneously suggest he add …

Axios reports: President Trump isn’t just accepting pardon requests but blindly discussing them “like Christmas gifts” to people who haven’t even asked, sources with direct knowledge of the conversations told Axios. Behind the scenes: Trump recently told one adviser he was going to pardon “every person who ever talked to me,” suggesting an even larger pardon blitz to come. As …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump is considering preemptively pardoning as many as 20 aides and associates before leaving office, frustrating Republicans who believe offering legal reprieves to his friends and family members could backfire. Trump’s strategy, like much of his presidency, is nontraditional. He is eschewing the typical protocol of processing cases through the Justice Department. And he may argue …