Trump pardons allies implicated in Russia probe
December 23, 2020
US President Donald Trump issued 15 more presidential pardons on Tuesday, including two for people implicated in the Russia probe.
Trump granted a full pardon to former campaign aide George Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty during the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. He has already served 12 days of a 14-day sentence in prison.
"Today’s pardon helps correct the wrong that (Robert) Mueller’s team inflicted on so many people," the White House said.
A season of pardons
Along with Papadopoulos, Trump pardoned Alex van der Zwaan, the Dutch son-in-law of Russian billionaire German Khan.
Zwaan was sentenced to 30 days in prison and fined $20,000 for lying to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators about contacts with an official in Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Three former Republican lawmakers, including Chris Collins and Duncan Hunter, and four Blackwater guards convicted of killing Iraqi civilians, also received a pardon from Trump.
Collins was sentenced to over two years in prison for helping his son and others escape losses worth $800,000 in the stock market by providing them insider information about a drug trial.
Meanwhile, Hunter was sentenced for 11 months after he pleaded guilty for stealing campaign funds and using the funds for personal purposes like his daughter's birthday party.
The flurry of pardons are flowing in as Trump's time in the White House draws to a close. Last month, Trump pardoned his former security adviser Michael Flynn. Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 of making false statements to US federal investigators.
am/aw (Reuters, AP)