Trump grants clemency to 143 people in late-night pardon blast – By Rosalind Helderman, Josh Dawsey, Beth Reinhard (The Washington Post) / January 20 2021
President Trump on Tuesday granted clemency to 143 people, using a final act of presidential power to extend mercy to former White House strategist Stephen K. Bannon, well-connected celebrities and nonviolent drug offenders — but did not preemptively pardon himself or his family.
Among those who were pardoned or who had their sentences commuted on Trump’s final full day in office were the rapper Lil Wayne and former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who has been serving a 28-year prison sentence on corruption charges.
Trump also pardoned two former Republican members of Congress, Rick Renzi of Arizona and Randall “Duke” Cunningham of California. Both had completed prison terms that stemmed from corruption convictions. A third, Robert “Robin” Hayes of North Carolina, was also pardoned after finishing a probation sentence for making a false statement during a federal investigation
Before finally signing the paperwork shortly before midnight, the president spent part of Tuesday consumed with indecision over whether to pardon Bannon, according to two aides. The former Trump adviser was charged last year with defrauding donors to a charity established to privately fund the building of a wall on the southern border.
