Trump flexes his presidential pardon power
The president granted clemency to 11 people on Tuesday, many of whom had connections to the White House.
President Donald Trump has been on a pardoning spree.
The 45th president of the United States granted clemency for 11 people on Tuesday: seven pardons and four commutations. The White House did not provide specific reasoning for the president’s selections, however some were reportedly planned for years, while others seem to have been recommended.
“These are all people that you have to see the recommendations; I rely on recommendations, very importantly,” Trump told reporters before departing from Andrews Air Force Base Tuesday afternoon.
An analysis by The Washington Post released this month found that the majority of clemency grants under Trump have been given to those with White House connections and have bypassed the executive branch’s panel of pardon advisers.
Rod Blagojevich
The most prominent recipient of the president’s clemency was former Illinois Governor (and former contestant on “The Celebrity Apprentice”) Rod Blagojevich, who had served over half of his 14-year prison sentence. Blagojevich was convicted over a decade ago on a number of federal charges that included trying to sell the senate seat Barack Obama vacated when he was elected president.
White House aides worked to convince Trump against reducing Blagojevich’s sentence, believing it would not play well politically, according to CNN, and G.O.P. Congress members lobbied Trump to drop the idea completely. But inside the White House, Jared Kushner led the effort to commute the former governor’s sentence.
Edward DeBartolo Jr.
In another controversial move, Trump pardoned former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr., who pleaded guilty in 1998 for failing to report that he was extorted by former Louisiana Governor Edwin W. Edwards.
DeBartolo did not serve jail time, but he did pay almost $1 million in fines. He previously relinquished ownership of the 49ers to his sister, Denise York.
Bernard Kerik
Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik was also pardoned. Kerik served three years in federal prison for charges including tax fraud and lying to officials. An ally of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Kerik helped with the case of Edward “Eddie” Gallagher: a Navy S.E.A.L. chief who was convicted of bringing discredit to the armed services after posing next to a dead I.S.I.S. fighter’s body against regulations. Gallagher was then demoted in rank — a decision Trump reversed, angering military officials.
Michael Milken
The president didn’t stop there: He pardoned financier Michael Milken, who pioneered high-yield junk bonds and pleaded guilty in 1990 to felonies related to securities and tax fraud. Milken served 22 months of a 10-year prison sentence for violating securities laws and was accused of taking part in an insider trading scheme; he eventually pleaded guilty to several counts of securities violations tied to a scandal with former stock trader Ivan Boesky. Milken paid a $600 million fine and was banned from the securities industry.
As of February 18, 2020, the president has only pardoned 25 people and commuted the sentences of 10. That is the least amount since the second president of the United States, John Adams (excluding William Henry Harrison and James Garfield, who are the only presidents not to issue pardons at all: Harrison died in office a month after being inaugurated and Garfield was assassinated).
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