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How the Trump administration pardon process broke down in favor of the rich and well-connected

The cottage industry behind Trump’s pardons: How the rich and well-connected got ahead at the expense of others
Beth Reinhard, Rosalind Helderman, Tom Hamburger, Josh Dawsey
© Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post
As president, Donald Trump issued a blizzard of 144 pardon and commutations in his final hours at the White House.
A federal judge in South Dakota was blunt last summer when she sentenced Paul Erickson, a seasoned Republican operative who had pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering.
“What comes through is that you’re a thief, and you’ve betrayed your friends, your family, pretty much everyone you know,” District Judge Karen E. Schreier told Erickson in July, before sentencing him to seven years in prison for scamming dozens of people out of $5.3 million. ....

United States , New York , White House , District Of Columbia , Sioux Falls , South Dakota , Salt Lake City , New Jersey , North Dakota , Elliott Broidy , Matt Whitaker , Mark Cowan , Nick Scarmazzo , Williamc Mccorriston , Brett Tolman , George Nader , Jack Burkman , Nickie Lum Davis , Karene Schreier , Luke Scarmazzo , Jared Kushner , Maria Butina , Alan Dershowitz , Steve Cohend Tenn , Bill Clinton , Ivanka Trump ,

The cottage industry behind Trump's pardons: How the rich and well-connected got ahead at the expense of others

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A federal judge in South Dakota was blunt last summer when she sentenced Paul Erickson, a seasoned Republican operative who had pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering.
“What comes through is that you’re a thief, and you’ve betrayed your friends, your family, pretty much everyone you know,” federal District Judge Karen Schreier told Erickson in July, before sentencing him to seven years in prison for scamming dozens of people out of $5.3 million.
But Erickson, who had advised GOP presidential campaigns and a noted conservative organization, had a way out.
He had the ear of White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, a member of President Donald Trump’s inner orbit. And, unrelated to his conviction, he had been caught up in the investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, an inquiry much reviled by Trump. ....

New York , United States , White House , District Of Columbia , New Jersey , South Dakota , North Dakota , Elliott Broidy , Matt Whitaker , Mark Cowan , Nick Scarmazzo , Brett Tolman , George Nader , Jack Burkman , Nickie Lum Davis , Adam Schiff , Jabin Botsford Ivanka , Luke Scarmazzo , Jared Kushner , Maria Butina , Andrew Harnik , Alan Dershowitz , Bill Clinton , David Karp , Ivanka Trump , Pat Cipollone ,