"Donald Trump's unprecedented pardoning spree for political and business friends since returning to the White House has prompted warnings from ex-prosecutors and legal scholars of corrupt pay-to-play schemes, conflicts of interest and blatant partisanship. It has included hundreds of Maga allies, a cryptocurrency mogul with ties to a Trump family crypto firm, disgraced politicians, and others who could yield political and financial benefits."
"Trump's political and business driven pardons spurred strong rebukes from his first day in office, when he pardoned or commuted sentences for some 1,500 Maga allies who attacked the Capitol on January 6 and tried to block Congress from certifying Joe Biden's election. Since then, critics of Trump's pardon policies have also leveled heavy fire at Trump's radical move in May to make Maga loyalist Ed Martin, who has pushed false claims about the 2020 election results, the pardon attorney at the justice department."
"Last month, Trump commuted a seven-year sentence of expelled House member George Santos, who pleaded guilty in 2024 to 13 counts including fraud and identity theft and had only served a few months."
Since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has issued hundreds of pardons and commutations that favor political and business allies. The clemency actions included around 1,500 MAGA supporters tied to the January 6 attack and other figures who could provide political or financial benefits. Legal scholars and ex-prosecutors warned of pay-to-play schemes, conflicts of interest, and blatant partisanship. Trump replaced a veteran pardon attorney who resisted clemency for an ally and installed MAGA loyalist Ed Martin as pardon attorney. Recent high-profile moves include commuting George Santos's sentence and pardoning Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, linked to a Trump family crypto deal.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]