Among the 26 people who were granted full pardons from President Donald Trump on Wednesday was former Palm Beach County Commissioner Mary McCarty and Boca Raton real estate mogul James Batmasian.
McCarty, who was elected five times to the Palm Beach County Commission starting in 1990, pleaded guilty in 2009 to a federal charge of honest services fraud for steering bond-underwriting business to her husband and for accepting free or discounted hotel rooms from a company that she backed to build the planned hotel at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach. She served 21 months of a 3½-year prison sentence.
Trump wields pardon power as political weapon, rewarding loyalists and undermining prosecutors Toluse Olorunnipa, Josh Dawsey
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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. Among the dozens of people who received pardons from President Trump this week were several who lied to investigators and obstructed a federal probe into the president s links to Russia.
Some had personal connections to Trump or his most loyal backers. A handful were Republican lawmakers rewarded for fealty to the president after betraying the public trust. Others abused their authority in more violent ways, killing or injuring unarmed civilians.
Taken together, the rogues’ gallery of criminals receiving clemency this week showcased Trump’s willingness to exert raw political power for his own personal gain, handing out favors to friends at a time when he is seeking GOP support for his flailing bid to reverse his election loss.
Justice Department data show Trump has granted clemency to just 0.5 per cent of requesters
About 10,000 have asked for pardons or clemency
Trump has been on a two-day pardon spree
Granted to Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner s father Charles
Also provided to two GOP lawmakers convicted of crimes who were first endorsers
Biggest uproar since Clinton s pardon of financier Marc Rich
George H.W. Bush pardoned Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and Iran Contra figures
Trump has tweeted he has the absolute right to PARDON myself but scholars are split
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The first lady, 50, was pictured wrapped up with her husband Donald boarding Air Force One Wednesday
On arrival in the Sunshine State - where temperatures reached 75F - she had opted for a polka dot dress
The Trumps will spend the holiday period at Mar-a-Lago and are scheduled to enjoy a 10-day visit at the resort
Trump left having pardoned 29 more loyalists like Jared Kushner s father, Paul Manafort and Roger Stone
He also spent the day engaging in some saber-rattling from 30,000 feet, issuing health advice to Iran and tweeting out images of unexploded ordinance following an attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad
23 Dec 2020
President Donald Trump issued another round of pardons on Wednesday to sixteen people, including his former campaign manager Paul Manafort, his sometimes adviser Roger Stone, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s father, Charlie Kushner.
Charlie Kushner was prosecuted in 2005 by former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was New Jersey’s Attorney General at the time. Kushner, a top donor to Democrats, plead guilty to 18 counts of tax evasion, witness tampering, and making illegal campaign donations.
He admitted hiring a prostitute to lure his brother-in-law into having sex in a Bridgwater, New Jersey, hotel and sent the video of it to his wife, in an effort to prevent him from cooperating in the investigation.