Trump pardons Charles Kushner, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone in latest wave of clemency grants – By Matt Zapotosky, Josh Dawsey, Colby Itkowitz, Jonathan O’Connell (The Washington Post) / Dec 24 2020
President Trump on Wednesday granted pardons or other clemency to another 29 people, including real estate developer Charles Kushner, his son-in-law’s father, and two former advisers who were convicted as part of the FBI’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election — once again using his executive power to benefit his allies and undermine an investigation that dogged his presidency.
© Tom Brenner/Reuters President Trump waves as he boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday.
With his time in office nearing its end, Trump pardoned former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was convicted in 2018 of committing financial fraud and conspiring to obstruct the investigation of his crimes, and he upgraded to a full pardon the sentence commutation he provided earlier to longtime friend Roger Stone.
Trump also pardoned Kushner, the father of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, who pleaded guilty in 2004 to having made false statements to the Federal Election Commission, and he subsequently pleaded guilty to witness tampering, and tax evasion stemming from $6 million in political contributions and gifts mischaracterized as business expenses.
