The announcement of Trump's pardons kicks off what is expected to be a barrage of pardons and commutations in the coming weeks.
(CNN) -
President Donald Trump announced a wave of pardons on Tuesday shortly before his departure from office.
The list of pardons includes two men who pleaded guilty in the Robert Mueller investigation, Republican allies who once served in Congress, and military contractors involved in a deadly shooting of Iraqi civilians.
The pardons to former campaign aide George Papadopoulos, former US Congressmen Duncan Hunter and Chris Collins, and the four Blackwater guards involved in the Iraq massacre kick off what is expected to be a barrage of pardons and commutations in the coming weeks. , as Trump's term draws to a close.
Also included in the batch that was announced Tuesday is Alex van der Zwaan, the Dutch lawyer who was sentenced to 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to lying to Mueller investigators.
There are also two Border Patrol agents convicted in 2006 of shooting and wounding an unarmed undocumented immigrant and then covering up for him.
And also several people convicted of non-violent drug offenses serving long sentences.
The pardons came on the recommendation of Trump's allies in Congress and, in some cases, the conservative media.
Alice Johnson, the former federal inmate whose sentence Trump commuted at the behest of Kim Kardashian West, recommended clemency for many of the offenders convicted of non-violent drug offenses.
Tuesday's announcement also included the commutation of the prison sentence remaining for former Representative Steve Stockman.
The latter is a Republican from Texas who was convicted by a jury in the state of nearly two dozen crimes, including fraud and money laundering.
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In the statement, the White House cited Stockman's age, 64, and said that he "has underlying pre-existing health conditions that put his health at greater risk during the covid epidemic, and he already contracted covid while in prison."
He had served two years of his 10-year sentence for what prosecutors called a "white-collar crime spree."
Another included in Tuesday's lot was the clemency for Alfonso Costa, a dentist who pleaded guilty to health care fraud.
Also Alfred Lee Crum, who pleaded guilty in 1952 to illegally distilling alcohol.
On the list is Weldon Angelos, who was sentenced to 55 years in prison for selling marijuana and carrying a gun.
And it also includes Philip Lyman, a county commissioner in Utah who was sentenced to 10 days in jail in connection with his protest over ATV restrictions on federal land.
Otis Gordon, who was convicted of possession with intent to distribute, is also on the list.
Trump also commuted part of Philip Esformes's sentence.
Esformes is a Florida nursing home mogul convicted of paying bribes in a Medicare fraud case.
The president also reduced the sentences of three women, Crystal Munoz, Tynice Nichole Hall and Judith Negron, convicted of drug offenses on Johnson's recommendation.
Johnson has worked on behalf of other inmates after the president commuted his own sentence.
Later, Trump granted Johnson a full pardon at this year's Republican National Convention.
Trump Pardons Linked to Mueller Investigation
George Papadopoulos visits "The Story With Martha MacCallum" at Fox News Studios on March 26, 2019, in New York City.
The pardons pardon two of the first defendants who pleaded guilty and served prison terms in the Mueller investigation.
One is the foreign policy advisor for the 2016 Papadopoulos campaign.
The other is Van der Zwaan, who was part of a major Mueller investigation into illegal foreign lobbying efforts and Trump's campaign advisor Paul Manafort's Ukrainian and Russian connections.
Both Papadopoulos and Van der Zwaan pleaded guilty to lying to investigators during the Russia investigation.
Neither provided Mueller with any meaningful cooperation, prosecutors said.
Papadopoulos had lied to investigators about his contacts with people related to Russia.
This included dialogue with them about negative information that could harm Hillary Clinton in 2016 and a possible trip by Trump during the campaign to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
At his sentencing, Papadopoulos's then-attorney called him "pro-FBI" and said he lied, given that he could still be considered for a job in the Trump administration.
Defense attorney Thomas Breen effectively blamed Trump for publicly urging people like Papadopoulos to ignore investigators on Russia.
"The President of the United States obstructed this investigation more than George Papadopoulos could ever have done," argued Breen.
"I made a terrible mistake," Papadopoulos told the judge during his sentencing hearing.
"In retrospect, lying to federal agents on such a critical issue could have hurt our nation," he added.
He spent less than two weeks in prison in late 2018. Since then, he has criticized investigators and how they caught him.
Van der Zwaan, who is also the son-in-law of Ukrainian-Russian billionaire German Khan, spent nearly a month in prison before being deported to Europe in June 2018. He displayed "silent" remorse during his sentencing, according to the judge.
Attorney Alex van der Zwaan leaves the United States District Court after pleading guilty during a scheduled appearance February 20, 2018 in Washington DC.
This is not something that happened to him.
This is something he did, ”Federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson said during Van der Zwaan's sentencing.
"He put his personal interest ahead of the interest of justice."
Most recently, Papadopoulos ran for Congress in California's 25th District in 2019 following the resignation of Democratic Rep. Katie Hill.
He lost the race for the free seat in the March primaries.
Former congressmen who received pardons from Trump
Hunter, who was sentenced earlier this year to 11 months in prison and three years of probation for misusing more than $ 200,000 of campaign funds for personal expenses, was recommended for clemency by "many members of Congress "According to the statement from the White House.
The former California lawmaker pleaded guilty in December 2019 to one count of conspiracy to misuse campaign funds.
He was scheduled to be on probation for three years after serving his prison sentence.
He was also asked to participate in a drug and alcohol treatment program.
Hunter reportedly began his sentence in May, but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Without the clemency, he would have had to appear in a federal prison in West Texas in January 2021.
Hunter and his wife were indicted in August 2018 for spending extravagantly on “such inconsequential items as fast food, movie tickets and sneakers;
as trivial as video games, Lego sets and Playdoh;
as mundane as groceries, dog food, and utilities;
and as self-indulgent as luxury hotels, vacations abroad and plane tickets for themselves, their relatives and their rabbits, Eggburt and Cadbury, "according to prosecutors.
Federal prosecutors charged Hunter with fraudulently spending more than $ 200,000.
The expenses included a vacation in Italy for $ 14,000.
And also thousands of dollars in everyday items like groceries, bedding, and other things for the home.
Hunter resigned from Congress in January after winning re-election in California's 50th Congressional District.
This covers much of eastern San Diego County.
Collins, a former congressman from New York, has been serving his 26-month prison sentence in a minimum-security federal prison in Florida since October.
Collins pleaded guilty in October 2019 to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one count of making a false statement.
While attending the White House Congressional annual picnic in June 2017, Collins had shared non-public information with his son Cameron about the failed results of a trial of a multiple sclerosis drug being developed by Australian biotech company Innate Immunotherapeutics Limited. , of which he was a member.
He later lied to FBI agents to cover it up.
The stock transactions allowed Cameron Collins, a co-defendant in the case, to avoid losses of more than $ 750,000, according to federal prosecutors.
Collins did not negotiate with the information.
Collins initially fought charges against him, calling them "without merit" when they first ran in 2018. He even won reelection while on indictment.
But in his guilty plea last year in federal court, Collins expressed his regret, saying that putting his son "in this danger at this young age ... is something I will live with for the rest of my life."
Collins resigned from Congress on September 30, 2019, the day before his guilty plea.
He had represented the 27th District of New York for almost seven years.
Blackwater Guards
This combination made from stock photos shows the Blackwater guards.
From left to right are: Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Nicholas Slatten and Paul Slough.
All four Blackwater guards - Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard - were convicted by a federal jury in 2014 after a lengthy trial.
Some 30 witnesses traveled from Iraq to testify against them.
Prosecutors charged the men with illegally firing "powerful shots from snipers, machine guns and grenade launchers at innocent men, women and children."
According to prosecutors, the four were among seven Blackwater employees who opened fire at the Nusoor Square roundabout in Baghdad, killing 17 people.
An FBI investigation found 14 of the wrongful deaths, according to the rules for private security contractors in Iraq.
Slatten was accused of firing the first shots.
Blackwater said its convoy was attacked and defense attorneys said in court that the witness accounts were fabricated.
But witnesses said that the contractors opened fire without provocation.
The White House said several members of Congress and Pete Hegseth, the conservative Fox News anchor ally of the president, supported Trump's pardons to these guards.
Trump pardons Border Patrol agents
The two Border Patrol agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, received prison sentences of 11 and 12 years for their role in the 2006 shooting. Their sentences were subsequently reduced following a presidential commutation of George W. Bush.
The shooting occurred on February 17, 2005 on the US-Mexico border southeast of El Paso, Texas.
During their trial, Ramos and Compean said that the illegal immigrant, Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, had brandished a weapon while actively resisting arrest.
Aldrete-Davila said, however, that he was unarmed and trying to surrender when Compean tried to hit him with a shotgun.
Aldrete-Davila was shot while fleeing towards the Rio Grande.
Ramos and Compean were convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon, lying about the incident, and violating Aldrete-Dávila's Fourth Amendment right against illegal search and seizure.
After receiving immunity to testify in the case against the two officers, Aldrete-Davila was arrested in 2007 on charges of bringing more than 350 kilos of marijuana to the United States.
The case became a political flash point.
Advocates for stricter border controls defended the agents and civil liberties groups claimed that the agents had used illegal and excessive force against Aldrete-Davila.
United States pardons