Team News Riveting
Before leaving the White House the last time, outgoing US President Donald Trump pardoned 142 people including former close associate and ex-chief strategist Steve Bannon as part of clemency action.
The beneficiaries included rap stars and former members of the US Congress also.
The pardons and commutations for these people were announced after midnight Wednesday in the final hours of Trump’s White House term, media reported.
Pardon recipients are generally defendants who have often served at least some prison time. A pardon for Bannon, however, nullified a prosecution still in its early stages in Manhattan, effectively eliminating any prospect for punishment.
Though other outgoing US presidents had issued controversial pardons, Trump used the clemency power to benefit not only friends and acquaintances but also celebrity defendants and those championed by allies.
Steve had been charged with duping thousands of investors who thought their money would be used to fulfil Trump’s chief campaign promise to build a wall along the southern border. Instead, Bannon allegedly diverted over a million dollars, paying a salary to one campaign official and personal expenses for himself, according to reports.
Trump had already pardoned many long-time associates and supporters, including his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Charles Kushner (the father of his son-in-law Jared), his friend and adviser Roger Stone, and his ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn.
