President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a rally on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin)
(CNN) – President Donald Trump is preparing to issue about 100 pardons and commutations on his last full day in office on Tuesday, according to three people familiar with the matter, a large batch of leniency actions that include white-collar criminals and high-profile rappers and others, but – from now on – it is not expected to include Trump himself.
The White House held a meeting on Sunday to finalize the list of pardons, two sources said.
Trump, who had been distributing pardons and commutations at a steady pace before Christmas, paused in the days leading up to and shortly after the January 6 riots at the United States Capitol, according to officials.
Aides said Trump was uniquely focused on counting the Electoral College in previous days, preventing him from making final decisions on pardons. White House officials expected them to resume after Jan. 6, but Trump stepped back after being accused of inciting unrest.
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Initially, two main batches were ready for launch, one at the end of last week and one on Tuesday. Now, officials expect the last batch to be the only one – unless Trump decides at the last minute to grant pardons to controversial allies, members of his family or himself.
The final batch of clemency actions is expected to include a mix of pardons aimed at criminal justice reform and other more controversial ones guaranteed or distributed to political allies.
Forgiveness is one of several items that Trump must complete before his presidency ends in days. White House officials still have executive orders prepared, and the president still hopes to release information related to the Russian investigation before leaving office. But with fewer and fewer government officials still in jobs, the likelihood that something will be done seemed to be decreasing.
The January 6 riots that led to Trump’s second impeachment complicated his desire to forgive himself, his children and personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. At this point, advisers do not think he will, but warn that only Trump knows what he will do with his last installment of presidential power before he is officially out of office at noon on January 20.
After the disturbances, advisers encouraged Trump to renounce personal forgiveness because it would appear that he was guilty of something, according to a person familiar with the talks. Several of Trump’s closest advisers have also asked that he not grant leniency to anyone involved in the U.S. Capitol siege, despite Trump’s initial position that those involved have done nothing wrong.
“There are a lot of people asking the president to forgive people” involved in the insurrection, Trump, an ally of Senator Lindsey Graham, told Fox News on Sunday. “Asking these people for forgiveness would be wrong.”
A White House official said the paperwork had not yet been prepared for personal forgiveness.
Still, Trump is expected to leave the White House on January 20 and could issue pardons until noon on the day of his inauguration.
Other eye-catching names, like Julian Assange, are also not currently considered among those who receive pardons, but the list is still fluid and that could change as well.
It is also unclear whether former Trump adviser Steve Bannon will receive forgiveness.
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Trump is still receiving several streams of pardon recommendations from councilors who remain in the White House, as well as people outside the building who have been lobbying for months for themselves or their clients.
The expectation among the allies is that Trump will grant pardons that he could benefit from the presidency.
“Everything is a transaction. He likes forgiveness because he is one-sided. And he likes to do favors to people he thinks owes him, ”said a source familiar with the matter.
Inside the White House, there has been a rush for petitions for pardons on behalf of allies and advocacy groups and names can be added and removed until the last minute, sources say.
CNN previously reported that there were a multitude of apologies for Trump’s last days in the post of allies, lobbyists and others in hopes of profiting from his loyalty to Trump. The New York Times reported on Sunday that some of these people were receiving tens of thousands of dollars to lobby on behalf of criminals waiting for forgiveness.
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