President Donald Trump pardoned numerous prominent figures on Wednesday including a family member and numerous loyalists that were key players during his 2016 campaign.
The family member that was pardoned was Charles Kushner, father of the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Trump also pardoned Paul Manafort, who was Trump’s campaign chairman in 2016, and Roger Stone, a political operative who was an informal adviser to the president and a longtime friend.
The White House issued the following statement on Charles Kushner, Stone, and Manafort:
Charles Kushner — President Trump granted a full pardon to Charles Kushner. Former United States Attorney for the District of Utah Brett Tolman and the American Conservative Union’s Matt Schlapp and David Safavian support a pardon of Mr. Kushner. Since completing his sentence in 2006, Mr. Kushner has been devoted to important philanthropic organizations and causes, such as Saint Barnabas Medical Center and United Cerebral Palsy. This record of reform and charity overshadows Mr. Kushner’s conviction and 2 year sentence for preparing false tax returns, witness retaliation, and making false statements to the FEC.
Paul Manafort — 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. Mr. 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. As a result of blatant prosecutorial overreach, Mr. 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 Mr. Manafort’s trial judge observed, prior to the Special Counsel investigation, Mr. Manafort had led an “otherwise blameless life.” Since May, Mr. Manafort has been released to home confinement as a result of COVID-19 concerns.
Roger Stone — Today, President Trump granted a full and unconditional pardon to Roger Stone, Jr. President Trump had previously commuted Mr. Stone’s sentence in July of this year. Mr. Stone is a 68-year-old man with numerous medical conditions. Due to prosecutorial misconduct by Special Counsel Mueller’s team, Mr. Stone was treated very unfairly. He was subjected to a pre-dawn raid of his home, which the media conveniently captured on camera. Mr. Stone also faced potential political bias at his jury trial. Pardoning him will help to right the injustices he faced at the hands of the Mueller investigation.
Trump also granted pardons and commutations to James Kassouf, Mary McCarty, Cristopher Wade, Christopher Anthony Bryant, Cesar Lozada, Joseph Martin Stephens, Andrew Barron Worden, Robert Coughlin, John Boultbee and Peter Atkinson, Joseph Occhipinti, Rebekah Charleston, Rickey Kanter, Topeka Sam, James Batmasian, William J. Plemons, Jr., Russell Plaisance, Daniela Gozes-Wagner, Mark Siljander, Stephanie Mohr, Gary Brugman, John Tate and Jesse Benton, Margaret Hunter, Mark Shapiro, and Irving Stitsky.
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