For one last time, Trump has used his presidential pardon powers to help 73 more people evade justice. Trump has previously issued 70 commutations, so in total, 143 people have been favored by Trump during his last nights before leaving the presidency.
Walking on the footprints of the former Republican president, the late George H.W. Bush, Trump carried on the Republican tradition of giving 11th-hour pardons and took the game to the whole next level.
In the final round, Trump pardons his ex-aide Bannon, along with 72 others who were involved in different types of federal crimes.
Trump Pardons:
Some of the prominent criminals who found their name in the last lucky draw done by Trump in the White House include
| Name of the Pardoned | Crime Committed |
| Steve Bannon | Collected funds from Republican supporters deceptively and used them for private purposes. |
| Elliott Broidy | He was guilty of acting as an unregistered foreign agent in the United States. |
| Kwame Kilpatrick | He had over a dozen charges against him, including extortion, bribery, and racketeering. |
| Lil’ Wayne | He was accused of having illegal possession of firearms. |
| Rapper Kodak Black | He was accused of making false statements to get a firearm. |
| Sholam Weiss | He was convicted for fraud of almost $125m from the federal funds. |
| Anthony Levandowski | He stole some secret information from Google’s driver-less cars plan and joined the competitive industries. |
| Todd Boulanger | He was accused of committing service fraud and bribing government officials. |
| Abel Holtz | He hindered a grand jury investigation. |
| Rick Renzi | He was involved in several crimes, including insurance fraud and extortion. |
| Kenneth Kurson | He was charged with cyberstalking. |
| Casey Urlacher | He was engaged in illegal gambling. |
| Carl Andrews Boggs | He was involved in several conspiracies. |
| Jaime A. Davidson | He was guilty of the murder of the undercover officer. |
| James E. Johnson, Jr | He was charged for offenses against migratory birds. |
| Tommaso Buti | He was accused of financial fraud involving several restaurants. |
| Bill K. Kapri | He was charged with making a false statement on a federal document. |
| Jawad A. Musa | He was under imprisonment for a drug-related offense. |
| Adriana Shayota | She was under several charges, including copyright infringement. |
| Glen Moss | He was accused of committing financial fraud. |
| Aviem Sella | He was convicted for espionage. |
| Michael Liberty | He was charged with a campaign finance violation. |
| Greg Reyes | He was convicted of securities fraud. |
| Ferrell Damon Scott | He was charged with distributing marijuana. |
| Benedict Olberding | He was charged with bank fraud. |
| Syrita Steib-Martin | She was accused of using a firearm to commit a felony. |
| Michael Ashley | He was convicted of bank fraud. |
| Eric Wesley Patton | He was convicted of making false claims on the mortgage application. |
| Robert William Cawthon | He was charged with making false statements on a bank loan statement. |
| Hal Knudson Mergler | He was charged with distributing LSD. |
| Gary Evan Hendler | He was charged with distributing controlled substances. |
| John Harold Wall | He was charged with distributing the drug methamphetamine. |
| Steven Samuel Grantham | He was charged with stealing a vehicle. |
| Clarence Olin Freeman | He operated illegal whiskey stills. |
| Fred Keith Alford | He was charged with a firearm violation. |
| Alex Adjmi | He was charged with financial fraud. |
| Douglas Jemal | He committed financial fraud. |
| Dr. Scott Harkonen | He was charged with fraud for a misleading statement in the newspaper regarding medical treatment. |
| Johnny D. Phillips, Jr. | He committed wire and mail fraud. |
| Dr. Mahmoud Reza Banki | He committed monetary violations and making false statements. |
| John Nystrom | He failed to alert authorities about fraudulent activities. |
| Jessica Frease | She was convicted for stolen checks and monetary fraud. |
| Robert Cannon Hayes | He lied during a federal investigation. |
| Thomas Kenton Ford | He lied to federal mining officials during an investigation. |
| Scott Conor Crosby | He was involved with the bank robbery. |
| Lynn Barney | He was charged with having an illegal firearm in his custody. |
| Amy Povah | She was involved in a drug-related offense. |
| Dr. Frederick Nahas | He was alleged to have obstructed justice. |
| David Tamman | He was charged with changing financial documents. |
| Dr. Faustino Bernadett | He failed to report a hospital’s fraudulent scheme to the authorities despite knowing. |
| Paul Erickson | He was charged with a financial crime. |
| Paul Behrens, Thaddeus Bereday, Todd Farha, Peter Clay, William Kale | All of them were involved in the same healthcare financial fraud. |
| David Rowland | He was charged with dealing with asbestos under an expired license. |
Last Minute Pardons by H.W. Bush:
There are two things in common between George H.W. Bush and Donald Trump. First of all, both of them are Republicans, and secondly, both of them were one-term presidents. So, it’s pertinent to make the comparison between the pardons issued by each of them just before leaving the office.
If we compare them with the George H.W. Bush pardons, we can see that Trump somehow walked on his path. Although Bush also pardoned a lot during his presidential term, however, the 11th-hour pardon on January 18, 1993, just two days prior to leaving the presidency, clemency was given to twelve people. Let’s look at how George H.W. Bush pardoned the people below before leaving the presidency.
| Name of the Pardoned | Crime |
| Robert Edward Leigh Barnhill | Bid rigging. |
| George Edward Clements | Intentionally making false declarations in front of the grand jury. |
| Edwin Cox Jr. | Bank fraud. |
| Lloyd Davis | Forging bank records. |
| James Lewis Donawho | Making a false statement to a government agency |
| John Stinson Howell | Evading income tax |
| Charles Huffman | Larceny on a government reservation |
| Thomas Kardashian | Giving gratuities to the US public officials |
| Frederick Lorber | Getting marijuana without paying tax |
| Richard Ware | Aiding and abetting bank fraud. |
| Albert Williams | Financial fraud |
| Clyde Umphenour, Jr. | Interstate transportation of forged securities |
If we look closely, both Trump and Bush pardoned people related to crimes involving financial fraud, marijuana distribution, and forged records. These last-minute pardons are a real obstruction to justice, as they block the justice department from providing penalties to the people who were on the receiving side of these committed crimes.
Read other Pardons Given by Trump:
Second Wave of Presidential Pardons by Trump
First wave of Presidential Pardons by Trump
Eli is a Political Data Scientist with over thirty years of experience in Data Engineering, Analytics, and Digital Marketing. Eli uses his expertise to give the latest information and distinctive analysis on US Political News, US Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, and Racial Justice equipping readers with the inequivalent knowledge.