President Donald Trump on Tuesday December 22, granted full pardons to 15 people including three former Republican lawmakers, and commuted all or part of the sentences of five others in his final weeks in office. Those pardoned included former Republican Reps. Duncan Hunter of California and Chris Collins of New York, two of the earliest GOP lawmakers to back Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Trump also commuted the sentences of five other people, including former Rep. Steve Stockman of Texas. Collins, the first member of Congress to endorse Trump to be president, was sentenced to two years and two months in federal prison after admitting he helped his son and others dodge $800,000 in stock market losses when he learned that a drug trial by a small pharmaceutical company had failed. Hunter was sentenced to 11 months in prison after pleading guilty to stealing campaign funds and spending the money on everything from outings with friends to his daughter’s birthday party. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the pardons for Hunter and Collins were granted after “the request of many members of Congress.” The list also included four former government contractors, Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard, who were convicted in a 2007 massacre in Baghdad that left more than a dozen Iraqi civilians dead and caused an international uproar over the use of private security guards in a war zone. Trump also announced pardons for two people involved in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. One was for 2016 campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about a conversation in which he learned that Russia had dirt on Trump’s Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. The other person is Alex van der Zwaan, a Dutch lawyer who was sentenced to 30 days in prison for lying to investigators during the Mueller probe. See full list below. Russia probe George Papadopoulos – Lying to the FBI – Full pardonAlex van der Zwaan – Lying to Mueller's investigators – Full pardonBlackwater contractors Dustin Heard – killing Iraqi civilians – Full pardon Evan Liberty – killing Iraqi civilians – Full pardon Nicholas Slatten – killing Iraqi civilians -Full pardonPaul Slough – killing Iraqi civilians – Full pardonRepublican lawmakersChris Collins – Conspiring to commit securities fraud and making false statements to the FBI – Full pardon Duncan Hunter – Stealing about $150,000 from his campaign funds to pay for a lavish lifestyle – Full pardon Steve Stockman – Conspiring to bilk at least $775,000 from conservative foundations that intended the donations for charities – Commuted sentence Border control agentsIgnacio Ramos – Assault with a dangerous weapon, lying about the incident – Full pardonJose Compean – Assault with a dangerous weapon, lying about the incident – Full pardonOthers Weldon Angelos – Sentenced to 55 years in prison for bringing guns to marijuana deals – Full pardon Alfred Lee Crum – Helping his wife´s uncle illegally distill moonshine – Full pardonAlfonso Costa – Pleaded guilty to a health care fraud charge related to false billing – Full pardonPhilip Esformes – Convicted on 20 criminal counts in what prosecutors described as a $1 billion Medicare fraud scheme, one of the biggest such cases in U.S. history – Full pardon Philip Lyman – Served 10 days in prison after he led a protest of about 50 ATV riders in a canyon home to Native American cliff dwellings that officials closed to motorized traffic – Full pardonOtis Gordon – Convicted of drug possession charge – Full pardonCrystal Munoz – Received a 20-year prison sentence on a drug conspiracy charge after being convicted for her role in a marijuana smuggling ring – Commuted sentence Tynice Nichole Hall – Received an 18-year sentence for allowing her apartment to be used to distribute drugs – Commuted sentenceJudith Negron – Received 35 years at a Florida prison for health care fraud, conspiracy and money laundering – Commuted sentenceThe post President Trump pardons 15, commutes 5 sentences in his final weeks in office. appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.
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