Trump surprises with new wave of pardons and commutations 3:04
(CNN) -
The end of Donald Trump's term has been marked by renewed interest in pardons and commutations from both the president and members of his inner circle seeking protection before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
While Trump has continued to falsely insist that he won the presidential election in place of Biden, the president's pardon of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was a sign that Trump understands his term is coming to an end.
The president announced a wave of pardons in the days leading up to Christmas, kicking off what is expected to be a barrage of pardons and commutations in the coming weeks before his time in office ends.
Trump's associates are appealing to the president in hopes of obtaining pardons before he leaves office, a source familiar with the matter told CNN on Tuesday.
The list includes Rudy Giuliani, who has led the president's legal battles to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election and disenfranchise millions of voters in his role as Trump's personal attorney.
And, since the election, Trump has discussed the possibility of granting preventive pardons to various people close to him.
This would include his children, son-in-law and Giuliani, a separate family source confirmed to CNN.
Trump has often bypassed the Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Counsel in deciding who is granted clemency.
Instead, the president has chosen to act on appeals from celebrities, conservative media, or his Republican allies.
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Here's a look at some of the high-profile individuals to whom Trump granted pardons and sentence commutes during his time in the White House:
2020
Roger Stone leaves a federal courthouse after being found guilty of obstructing a congressional investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 elections.
Roger Stone
: Trump announced on December 23 that he pardoned his old friend Stone.
Stone was convicted of crimes that included lying to Congress in part, prosecutors said, to protect the president.
Months ago, the president commuted Stone's prison sentence days before he was reported to federal prison in Georgia.
Charles Kushner
: Trump also announced on December 23 that he pardoned Charles Kushner, the father of the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Kushner had served time more than a decade ago after pleading guilty to 16 counts of tax evasion, one count of retaliation against a federal witness, his brother-in-law, and another count of lying to the Federal Election Commission.
Former Trump campaign manager Pail Manfort.
Paul Manafort:
Trump pardoned Manafort, his former 2016 campaign manager, on December 23.
At the time, Manafort was serving the remainder of his 7.5-year prison sentence from his home, after being released months ago due to concerns about the possibility of contracting coronavirus.
A bank and tax crimes jury convicted Manafort in August 2018. He later pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
Duncan Hunter with his wife, Margaret Hunter.
Margaret Hunter:
Trump pardoned Margaret Hunter, the wife of former Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, on December 23, a day after pardoning her husband.
Margaret Hunter was sentenced in August to eight months of home confinement after she pleaded guilty to misuse of campaign funds.
George Papadopoulos visits "The Story With Martha MacCallum" at Fox News Studios on March 26, 2019, in New York City.
George Papadopoulos:
Trump announced on December 22 that he had granted clemency to Papadopoulos, a 2016 former campaign aide who pleaded guilty to lying to investigators during the Russia investigation.
Attorney Alex van der Zwaan leaves the United States District Court after pleading guilty during a scheduled appearance February 20, 2018 in Washington DC.
Alex van der Zwaan -
The Dutch lawyer, sentenced to 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to lying to Mueller investigators, received a pardon from Trump on December 22.
Van der Zwaan spent nearly a month in prison before being deported to Europe in June 2018.
Duncan Hunter:
The president inducated the former Republican congressman from California on December 22.
Hunter was sentenced earlier this year to 11 months in prison and three years of supervised release on charges related to the misuse of more than $ 200,000 of campaign funds for personal purposes.
Chris Collins, with his wife Mary by his side, gives a press conference in response to his arrest for insider trading on August 8, 2018 in Buffalo, New York.
Chris Collins:
Trump pardoned Collins, a former Republican congressman from New York, on December 22.
Collins pleaded guilty in October 2019 to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one count of making a false statement.
At the time of the pardon, he was serving his 26-month prison sentence.
Four Blackwater Guards - Four Blackwater
Guards, Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, and Dustin Heard, were pardoned by Trump on December 22.
A federal jury convicted them in 2014 for their involvement in a deadly shooting of Iraqi civilians.
Two Border Patrol agents -
Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, two former Border Patrol agents - were also pardoned by Trump on December 22.
The ex-agents were convicted in 2006 of shooting and wounding an unarmed undocumented immigrant and then covering up the incident.
Alfonso Costa:
Trump pardoned Costa, a dentist who pleaded guilty to health care fraud, on December 22.
Alfred Lee Crum:
On December 22, Trump pardoned Crum, who pleaded guilty in 1952 to illegally distilling alcohol.
Weldon Angelos:
Trump pardoned Angelos, sentenced to 55 years in prison for selling marijuana and carrying a gun, on Dec. 22.
Philip Lyman:
Trump on Dec. 22 pardoned Lyman, a Utah county commissioner sentenced to 10 days in jail for his protest against restrictions on the use of ATVs on federal land.
Otis Gordon:
On December 22, Trump pardoned Gordon, convicted of possession with intent to distribute.
Steve Stockman:
Trump announced on December 22 that he had commuted the remaining prison term of Stockman, a former Republican congressman from Texas convicted by a jury in the state of nearly two dozen felonies, including fraud and money laundering.
Philip Esformes:
On December 22, Trump commuted part of his sentence to the Florida nursing home mogul, convicted of paying bribes in a Medicare fraud case.
Michael Flynn leaves the US courthouse E. Barrett Prettyman in June 2019, in Washington DC.
Michael Flynn:
Trump announced on November 25 that he would grant Flynn, his former National Security adviser, a pardon exonerating him from everything related to the investigation that the FBI carried out into his contacts with Russia, his cooperation during the investigation Mueller and other cases Mueller may have investigated, and his revelations about secret lobbying for Turkey in 2016 before becoming Trump's first National Security Adviser.
Alice Marie Johnson listens to President Trump as he grants her a full pardon at the White House.
Alice Marie Johnson:
Trump granted Johnson, who was convicted for the first time of a non-violent drug crime, a clemency on Aug. 28.
Trump had commuted his prison sentence in 2018, a week after Kim Kardashian West advocated for Johnson's release during a meeting in the Oval Office.
Jon Ponder listens to President Donald Trump deliver the Hope for Prisoners commencement address in Las Vegas on February 20, 2020.
Jon Ponder:
Ponder, a convicted bank robber and founder and CEO of Hope for Prisoners, received a full pardon from Trump on August 25.
A video of Trump pardoning Ponder was posted on the second night of the Republican National Convention.
Portrait of Susan B. Anthony seated at a desk, circa 1868.
Susan B. Anthony:
During an event on August 18, Trump commemorated the centennial of the 19th Amendment, which guarantees the right to vote for women, with a pardon to the women's rights activist.
Anthony was tried and found guilty of voting in the 1872 presidential election, before women had the right to vote.
Roger Stone leaves the E. Barrett Prettyman court in November 2019 in Washington DC.
Roger Stone:
On July 10, Trump commuted Stone's prison sentence just days before he was to report to a federal prison in Georgia.
Eddie DeBartolo Jr. speaks onstage during the 5th Annual NFL Honors in February 2016 in San Francisco.
Edward J. DeBartolo Jr .:
Trump granted clemency to former San Francisco 49ers team owner DeBartolo on February 18.
DeBartolo pleaded guilty in 1998 to failing to report a crime in a bribery case, which led to former Louisiana Governor Edwin W. Edwards being sent to federal prison.
Bernard Kerik attends a debate at the Dirksen Building in 2014.
Bernard Kerik
: On February 18, Trump pardoned former NYPD Commissioner Kerik, who served three years in federal prison on charges including tax fraud and lying to officials, and was a former business associate of Trump's ally and former mayor from New York Rudy Giuliani.
Paul Pogue:
Trump granted clemency on February 18 to Pogue, a construction company owner and Republican political donor, who was sentenced to three years of probation for paying approximately 10% less of his taxes over a three-year period .
Michael Milken speaks at the Milken Institute Asia Summit in Singapore in September 2019.
Michael Milken:
Trump said on February 18 that he was granting clemency to Milken, the legendary bond king of the 1980s who served several years in prison for violating securities laws and has since become a prominent philanthropist.
David Safavian leaves the United States District Court in Washington DC in October 2006.
David Safavian:
Trump pardoned Safavian, a former Republican billionaire and lawyer, who served as an official in the administration of President George W. Bush.
Safavian was sentenced to one year in prison in 2009 for obstructing an investigation and making false statements regarding former trustee Jack Abramoff during his time in the General Services Administration.
Ariel Friedler:
Trump issued a pardon on February 18 to Friedler, a software entrepreneur who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to access a protected computer without authorization and served two months in prison, according to the White House, which noted that the request for clemency was endorsed by former New Jersey governor and Trump ally Chris Christie.
Angela Stanton attends the screening of "The Redemption Project With Van Jones" in Atlanta in May 2019.
Angela Stanton:
The President pardoned Stanton, author, television personality and motivational speaker, on February 18 for her involvement in a stolen vehicle ring in 2007, for which she served six months of home confinement.
Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich arrives at Denver International Airport on February 18, 2020.
Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich:
On February 18, Trump commuted the sentence of Blagojevich, a former Illinois governor accused of attempting to sell a Senate seat who had served eight years out of a 14-year sentence. Trump had been weighing the measure since less 2018.
Tynice Nichole Hall:
Trump commuted Hall's prison sentence after she served nearly 14 years on drug charges.
Hall was found guilty of the counts of distribution, possession and manufacture of crack, as well as possession of firearms, according to the Department of Justice.
Later, the president commuted the remainder of Hall's probation period.
Crystal Munoz:
Trump commuted Muñoz's sentence after he served 12 years in prison on marijuana-related charges.
Munoz had already requested clemency during the Obama administration.
The president subsequently commuted the remainder of Munoz's probation period.
Judith Negron is interviewed at her home in Hialeah, Florida, in February 2020.
Judith Negron:
The President commuted Negron's 35-year prison sentence for her role in a $ 205 million Medicare fraud scheme.
He served eight years of his 35-year sentence. Johnson was also among those who advocated for Negron's sentence commutation.
Later, the president commuted the remainder of Negron's probation period.
2019
Michael Behenna answers a question during a May 2019 press conference in Oklahoma City.
Michael Chase Behenna:
Trump granted Behanna, a former Army First Lieutenant deployed to Iraq in 2007, a full pardon for his 2009 conviction for killing an Iraqi detainee during unauthorized interrogation.
Behanna spent five years in prison before being paroled in 2014.
Mathew Golsteyn:
Ignoring advice from the Pentagon, Trump intervened in the case of Army Major Golsteyn, who was charged with the 2010 murder of an unarmed Afghan suspected of being a bomb maker for the Taliban.
Golsteyn is scheduled to appear in court martial in December 2019 when Trump pardoned him on November 15.
Lieutenant Clint Lorance appears on "Fox & Friends" in November 2019 in New York.
Clint A. Lorance -
On November 15, 2019, Trump also pardoned Army 1st Lt. Lorance, who was convicted in 2013 of willful manslaughter for ordering his men to shoot three men on a motorcycle in Afghanistan.
Lorance was released from the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth later that day, having served more than six years of his 19-year sentence.
2018
Scooter Libby attends a ceremony at the Capitol Visitor Center in December 2015.
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby:
In April 2018, Trump pardoned former Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, who had been convicted in a case headed by a special counsel, at a time when Trump himself was involved in an investigation of the special prosecutor.
Libby had been convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in 2007, in the investigation into who leaked the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame.
He was not charged with the leak itself.
Former boxer Jack Johnson.
Jack Johnson:
Trump granted a posthumous pardon to the first black world heavyweight boxing champion after "Rocky" actor Sylvester Stallone briefed him on the case.
Johnson was convicted in 1913 under the Mann Act of pushing his white girlfriend across state lines for "immoral" purposes.
The Mann Act was intended to prevent human trafficking for prostitution purposes, but critics have argued that it was applied inconsistently to criminalize African-Americans and those with dissenting political views.
He served 10 months in prison.
Dinesh D'Souza attends the premiere of his film "Death of a Nation" at the E Street Cinema in August 2018 in Washington DC.
Dinesh D'Souza:
Trump granted a full pardon in late May 2018 to the conservative author and filmmaker after Texas Senator Ted Cruz, among others, raised the issue with him, a source familiar with how the proceedings unfolded told CNN. stuff.
D'Souza pleaded guilty in 2014 to violating federal campaign finance laws by illegally using others to make contributions to a Republican Senate candidate in New York in 2012.
Dwight Hammond Jr. greets protesters outside his home in Burns, Oregon, in 2016.
Dwight Hammond Jr. and Steven Hammond:
Trump pardoned these ranchers convicted in 2012 of committing arson on federal land in Oregon.
His sentencing inspired rancher Ammon Bundy in 2016 to lead a week-long armed occupation of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon.
2017
Sheriff Joe Arpaio attends a rally in October 2016 in Prescott Valley, Arizona.
Joe Arpaio:
Early in his presidency, Trump granted his first clemency in August 2017 to the controversial former Maricopa County Sheriff, known for his harsh treatment of undocumented immigrants.
Arpaio was a supporter of Trump's candidacy in 2016. A month before his clemency, he was found guilty of contempt for violating an order that prevented him from targeting Latinos to make traffic stops and arrests on suspicion of their condition. of immigrants.
He was scheduled to be sentenced in October.
CNN's Betsy Klein, Jim Acosta, Pamela Brown, Michael Warren, Katelyn Polantz, Jeremy Diamond, Kaitlan Collins, and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
United States pardons