Donald Trump forgave his 2016 campaign president Paul Manafort, using his executive power in recent weeks as president to free an ally who had been convicted of financial crimes and illegal lobbying.
Trump also forgave Roger Stone, a longtime political adviser whose sentence for a conviction for lying to Congress he had previously commuted to; and Charles Kushner, the real estate developer and father of the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Paul Manafort arrives at the Manhattan Supreme Court in New York on June 27, 2019.
Photographer: Timothy A. Clary / AFP / Getty Images
The White House announced the pardon Wednesday night after Trump arrived at his resort in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, for the holidays.
Mercy drew harsh criticism from members of both parties. Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican from Nebraska and sometimes an opponent of the president, issued a brief statement with the phrase: “This is rotten to the core”.
The previous night, the president announced forgiveness to many others, including two men convicted as part of the investigation of former special adviser Robert Mueller in Russia and two former Republican congressmen convicted of a series of financial crimes.
Manafort, an international political consultant and agent for the Republican Party, was serving a 7 1/2 year term when he was released in May to confinement at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He was convicted in August 2018 for lying to the tax authorities about tens of millions of dollars he earned as a political adviser in Ukraine and for misleading banks about his financial health to get loans.
His conviction also emerged as part of Mueller’s investigation in the 2016 elections.
Why presidential pardons are normal, Trump’s least: QuickTake
Manafort later pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally lobby for Ukraine, laundering money to support a luxurious lifestyle and tampering with witnesses.
Trump had previously resisted offering forgiveness to Manafort, probably partly because it posed a political risk. His decision to move on now seemed at least tacit acknowledgment that his presidency is coming to an end, despite claiming without evidence that his victory was stolen by widespread electoral fraud.
Shortly after Manafort’s conviction, Trump told reporters that he believed Manafort was a “good man” and said that sense “Very sad” about the conviction – although the crimes were not the president’s. Trump went on to suggest that Manafort had been the subject of unjust federal investigations.
“It is a witch hunt and a shame,” said Trump.
Manafort was also indicted in New York for lying about mortgage applications for properties in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
But in October, an appeals court upheld the previous rejection of the charges, concluding that state law did not permit the trial of the same charges that Manafort faced at the federal level. Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. appealed that decision.
Danny Frost, a spokesman for Vance, said Trump’s pardon “underscores the urgent need to hold Mr. Manafort accountable for his crimes against the people of New York, as alleged in our indictment, and we will continue to seek our appeals. ”.
Previously: Trump Pardons, former campaign advisor, two former Republican lawmakers
The eldest Kushner was arrested after being convicted on charges that included preparing false tax returns and retaliating against witnesses. He was sued by Chris Christie, then United States attorney in New Jersey, who later became governor of the state and later adviser to Trump.
Moments after the pardon was announced, Stone’s lawyer, Grant Smith, said his client is “humiliated because President Trump used his constitutional power to allow Mr. and Mrs. Stone to leave that behind and move on. with their lives ”.
On Tuesday, Trump announced the pardon of former campaign advisor George Papadopoulos, who was convicted of lying to the FBI, and Alex van der Zwaan, a lawyer who was also convicted of making false statements during the investigation in Russia. He also pardoned four men who worked as security guards for Blackwater and were convicted of the murder of Iraqi civilians in 2007.
The pardoned ex-congressmen include Duncan Hunter, the California lawmaker who pleaded guilty to misusing campaign funds, and Chris Collins, a New York representative who pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. The president also commuted the remaining prison sentence for Steve Stockman, a former Texas congressman who was convicted of misusing charitable funds.
On Wednesday, Trump pardoned another former congressman, Mark Siljander, a Republican who represented a district in Michigan until 1987. In 2010, he pleaded guilty to obstructing justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent.
Earlier this month, Trump pardoned Michael Flynn, his first national security adviser, who pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents, and commuted Stone’s sentence, which was expected to serve more than three years in prison for tampering with witnesses and lying. for Congress.
House Judiciary President Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat from New York, criticized the pardons on Twitter.
And Congressman Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who led the investigation into Trump’s impeachment, accused him of corrupting presidential clemency powers.
“Trump is handing out pardons, not based on repentance, restitution or the interests of justice,” said Schiff in a statement, “but to reward his friends and political allies, to protect those who lie to cover him up, to shelter the guilty. killing civilians and undermining an investigation that revealed massive irregularities. ”
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, a legal advocacy group, said, “Trump has made it clear that he believes the purpose of forgiveness is to rescue wealthy white men attached to him. Trump has turned an instrument of mercy and justice into just another way of being corrupt. “
– With the help of Justin Blum, David Voreacos and Billy House
(Reactive updates, starting in the fourth paragraph.)