WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump pardoned former chief strategist Steve Bannon as part of a wave of clemency action in the closing hours of his White House term, which benefited more than 140 people, including rap artists, ex members of Congress and other allies of him and his family.
The last-minute clemency, announced on Wednesday morning, follows separate waves of pardons last month for Trump associates convicted in the FBI investigation in Russia, as well as for their son-in-law’s father-in-law. Taken together, the actions emphasize the president’s willingness, throughout his four years in the White House, to relax his constitutional powers in ways that defy convention and explicitly help his friends and supporters.
To be sure, the most recent list was heavily populated by more conventional candidates, whose cases were defended by criminal justice activists. A man who spent nearly 24 years in prison on drug and gun charges, but showed exemplary behavior behind bars, had his sentence commuted, as was a former Marine convicted in 2000 in connection with a cocaine conviction.
Even so, the names of Trump’s prominent allies stood out.
In addition to Bannon, other recipients of the pardon included Elliott Broidy, a Republican fund-raiser who pleaded guilty last fall to a scheme to lobby the Trump administration to end an investigation into the looting of a Malaysian wealth fund, and Ken Kurson, friend of Trump’s son -law Jared Kushner, who was charged last October with virtual harassment during a heated divorce.
Bannon’s forgiveness was especially notable given that the prosecution was still in its early stages and any trial was months away. While the recipients of the pardon are conventionally considered as defendants who have faced justice, often for having served at least some time in prison, the pardon nullifies the charge and effectively eliminates any prospect of punishment.
“Steve Bannon is getting Trump’s forgiveness after cheating Trump’s own supporters into paying for a wall that Trump promised Mexico would pay,” said Democratic MP Adam Schiff on Twitter. “And if it all sounds crazy, it is because it is. Thank goodness, we only have 12 more hours of this den of thieves. “
And while other presidents issued controversial pardons at the end of their administration, perhaps no commander-in-chief has so enjoyed using clemency authority to benefit not only friends and acquaintances, but also famous and defended defendants by allies.
Wednesday’s list includes its share of high-profile defendants. Among them were rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black, both convicted in Florida of possession of a weapon. Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter, has often expressed support for Trump and recently met with the president to address criminal justice issues. Others on the list included Death Row Records co-founder Michael Harris and New York art dealer and collector Hillel Nahmad.
Other recipients of the pardon include former Representative Rick Renzi, an Arizona Republican who served three years in prison for corruption, money laundering and other charges, and California’s former Deputy Duke Cunningham, who was convicted of accepting $ 2, 4 million in bribes from defense contractors. Cunningham, who was released from prison in 2013, received a parole.
Trump also commuted the prison sentence of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who served about seven years behind bars for extortion and bribery.
Bannon was accused of deceiving thousands of donors who believed their money would be used to fulfill Trump’s main campaign pledge to build a wall along the southern border. Instead, he allegedly embezzled more than a million dollars, paying a campaign officer a salary and personal expenses for himself.
Bannon did not answer questions on Tuesday.
Trump has already forgiven a number of longtime associates and supporters, including his former campaign president, Paul Manafort; Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law; his longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone; and his former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
A voice for weird nationalist conservatism, Bannon – who served in the Navy and worked at Goldman Sachs and as a Hollywood producer before turning to politics – led the conservative Breitbart News before being chosen to serve as executive director of the 2016 campaign of Trump in his critical final months.
He later served as the president’s chief strategist during the turbulent first days of the Trump administration and was at the forefront of many of his most controversial policies, including a travel ban in several Muslim-majority countries.
But Bannon, who came into conflict with other top advisers, was removed after less than a year. And his separation from Trump deepened after he was quoted in a 2018 book making critical comments about some of Trump’s adult children. Bannon apologized and soon stepped down as president of Breitbart. He and Trump recently reconciled.
In August, he was pulled from a luxury yacht off the Connecticut coast and brought before a judge in Manhattan, where he pleaded not guilty. When he left the courthouse, Bannon took off his mask, smiled and waved at the news cameras. As he headed for a vehicle waiting for him, he shouted: “All this fiasco is to stop people who want to build the wall”.
The organizers of the “We Build the Wall” group were eager to help the president build a “big and beautiful” barrier along the US-Mexico border, as he promised during the 2016 campaign. They raised more than $ 25 million thousands of donors and promised that 100% of the money would be used for the project.
But according to criminal charges, much of the money never went to the wall. Instead, it was used to fill the pockets of group members, including Bannon.
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Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report.