Rapper Lil Wayne is among those who are supposed to receive forgiveness or leniency from Donald Trump on his final full day on Tuesday.
However, sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters suggested that neither the president himself, nor Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, or former aide Steve Bannon will be on the list, which could reach 100. Nor will members of the Trump’s family receives preventive pardons, reports suggest.
While the constitutional legality of a presidential pardon on its own remains untested, advisers have warned Trump that forgiving himself and his family members can imply guilt that becomes a liability in future state or civil lawsuits against the family and Trump business.
It has also been suggested that self-forgiveness could antagonize some Republican senators who will be voting during Trump’s second impeachment trial, expected later this month.
Lil Wayne pleaded guilty last month to carrying a gold-plated loaded gun when his chartered jet landed in Miami in December 2019. He faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison at a January 28 hearing in Miami.
The rapper appeared to support Trump during last year’s presidential campaign, when he tweeted a photo of himself with the president and said he supported Trump’s criminal justice reform program and economic plan for African Americans.
The New York Times reports that the list of pardons and commutations should include former New York assembly chairman Sheldon Silver, 76, who was convicted of corruption charges in 2015. After a lengthy legal process, Silver was convicted in July of 2020 to six – and a half years in prison and $ 1 million fine. He is being held in federal prison in Otisville, New York.
It has also been said that Sholam Weiss is under consideration for forgiveness. Weiss was sentenced to 835 years in prison in 2000 for crimes like extortion, electronic fraud and money laundering. It is often described as the longest sentence imposed in the United States for a “white collar” crime.
Bannon, 66, who pleaded not guilty to charges of defrauding donors for “We Build the Wall,” an online fundraising campaign that raised $ 25 million, should not be on the list. Nor Giuliani.
It is reported that Giuliani fell out with the president over unpaid legal fees, and the lawyer has already refused to defend Trump in his Senate impeachment trial, since Giuliani was also involved in the January 6 rally that preceded a pro-Trump crowd looting the US Capitol.
He famously told the crowd “We are going to have a combat trial”, an observation he claimed to be a reference to Game of Thrones.
Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, another name often mentioned in connection with a possible Trump pardon, should also not be on the list.
The pardon list was prepared over the weekend in a series of meetings involving White House lawyer Pat A Cipollone, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
It is traditional for US presidents to grant pardons and leniency at the end of their term. Barack Obama commuted the sentence of Chelsea Manning in 2017, George W Bush commuted the sentence of former employee Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who had been found guilty of perjury, and Bill Clinton pardoned Marc Rich in a controversial action widely criticized as being corrupt after Rich’s ex-wife had made substantial donations to Clinton-related causes.