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US President Donald Trump has pardoned 29 individuals, including former aides convicted during the Robert Mueller investigations on allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 elections and his son-in-law’s father.
According to The Washington Post, Trump has discussed pardoning Steve Bannon, his former chief strategist, and Rudy Giuliani, his personal lawyer, and will issue dozens more before he leaves office.
Prominent among those pardoned include Roger Stone and Paul Manafort, who were convicted during the Robert Mueller investigations.
“Today, President Trump has issued a full and complete pardon to Paul Manafort, stemming from convictions prosecuted in the course of Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation, which was premised on the Russian collusion hoax. Manafort has already spent two years in prison, including a stretch of time in solitary confinement — treatment worse than what many of the most violent criminals receive,” the White House said.
“As a result of blatant prosecutorial overreach, Manafort has endured years of unfair treatment and is one of the most prominent victims of what has been revealed to be perhaps the greatest witch hunt in American history. As Manafort’s trial judge observed, prior to the Special Counsel investigation, . Manafort had led an ‘otherwise blameless life.’ Since May, Manafort has been released to home confinement as a result of COVID-19 concerns,” it said.
“Today, President Trump granted a full and unconditional pardon to Roger Stone, Jr. President Trump had previously commuted Stone’s sentence in July of this year. Stone is a 68-year-old man with numerous medical conditions,” the White House said. Trump granted a full pardon to his son-in-law’s father Charles Kushner, 66.
