President Trump announced 26 new pardons on Wednesday, including for allies Paul Manafort and Roger Stone, as well as Jared Kushner’s father, Charles Kushner. Mr. Trump granted 15 pardons the previous day.
Manafort, a former Trump campaign manager, was sentenced to 7 ½ years in federal prison for convictions related to the investigation of former special lawyer Robert Mueller in Russia. Manafort was released from prison in March to serve his sentence at home due to COVID-19.
Mr. Trump already had commuted the sentence of Stone, a longtime friend, in July. Stone was convicted of seven criminal charges stemming from Mueller’s investigation, including lying to investigators and tampering with witnesses.
Kushner was convicted of tampering with witnesses, tax evasion and illegal campaign contributions in 2005. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, has worked in the White House since the beginning of Trump’s presidency and was one of the president’s most influential and longtime advisers. The case against Charles Kushner was prosecuted by former New Jersey governor and Trump ally Chris Christie.
The pardon announcement occurs when the president arrives in Florida for the Christmas holidays, after veto the National Defense Authorization Law and threatening not to sign the stimulus package that would guarantee relief for millions of Americans. Mr. Trump pardoned other allies and former Republican members of Congress earlier this week.
Manafort immediately went to Twitter to thank the president.
“Mr President, my family and I humbly thank you for the presidential pardon you have granted me. Words cannot fully express how grateful we are,” he tweeted.
While the powers of presidential pardon are broad, they are generally intended to be granted to those who have atoned for their transgressions, expressed remorse for their actions, and often served society in some way. This is not the case with most recent pardons from the president’s allies.
Andrew Weissmann, a senior prosecutor in the investigation of Robert Mueller’s special attorney, criticized the president for the change on Twitter.
“This president’s pardons are what you would expect to get if you gave the mafia boss the pardoning power,” he wrote.
The president even received harsh criticism from some Republicans.
“This is rotten to the core,” Senator Ben Sasse for Nebraska said in a six-word statement.
But Trump cannot protect his allies from state prosecutions, which may be just around the corner.
“This action 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 resources,” said Danny Frost, director of communications for the District Attorney Manhattan Cyrus Vance Jr.