As a farewell gift, President Donald Trump has pardoned 73 persons and commuted the sentences of 70 additional individuals.
In an official White House statement released late Tuesday night, Trump pardoned his former Chief Strategist, Steve Bannon, as part of a last-minute clemency spree.
Also pardoned were Lil Wayne, Kodak Black and 69 others early Wednesday, just hours before president-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony.
Bannon was arrested in the summer and is accused of defrauding people who donated to a campaign to privately build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico.
He pleaded not guilty and was released on bail. A trial was planned for May. “Prosecutors pursued Mr Bannon with charges related to fraud stemming from his involvement in a political project.
“Mr Bannon has been an important leader in the conservative movement and is known for his political acumen,” the statement issued on behalf of Trump said. Bannon joined Trump’s team in 2016 and took charge of the campaign.
The 67-year-old is credited with playing a significant role in Trump’s surprising success at the time. After winning the election, Bannon became Trump’s chief strategist, but only served for seven months.
In recent weeks he has already pardoned a slew of long-time associates and supporters, including his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort and Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law; his longtime friend. Others are adviser Roger Stone and his former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Recall Lil Wayne, 38, pleaded guilty last month to possessing a loaded, gold-plated handgun when his chartered jet landed in Miami in December 2019.
He faced a sentence of up to 10 years in prison having previously served eight months in jail in New York, after being convicted of criminal possession of a weapon.
Kodak Black, 23, who was born Bill Kahan Kapri, is in federal prison for making a false statement in order to buy a firearm.
He was sentenced to 46 months in prison on federal weapons charges in 2019.
He admitted to lying on background-check forms while buying multiple firearms. Two of the weapons were later found by police at crime scenes, including one with Black’s fingerprints and a live round in the chamber that had been used to fire at a “rival rap artist.”
