Trump pardons Steve Bannon, skips giving pardon to himself and family

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• President Donald Trump granted pardon to his former chief adviser Steve Bannon hours before leaving the White House.
• Trump granted over 140 pardons and commutations but excluded himself, his family and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
• The outgoing president typically used pardons to his allies and supporters.

Before officially leaving the presidency, President Donald Trump has granted pardon to his former chief strategist Steve Bannon. Trump issued several clemencies in his last days at the White House but did not include his family members, nor himself and his attorney Rudy Giuliani.

According to a source familiar with the matter, the outgoing president’s aides told him not to pardon himself or any family member since it would appear that they would be guilty of something.

A key adviser during Trump’s 2016 campaign, Bannon was charged with swindling the president’s supporters in a bid to raise funds in building the US-Mexico border wall. He pleaded not guilty.

In a released statement, the White House said that Bannon “has been an important leader in the conservative movement and is known for his political acumen.”

The president proceeded with the pardon despite opposition from other White House officials.

A source familiar with the issue said that both Trump and Bannon recently revived their relationship since the former asked for support in proving his claims of voter fraud.

Bannon was a former executive chairman and co-founder of Breitbart, a ring-wing news agency. He was influential in building the “America First” ring-wing populism. Some of Trump’s anti-immigration key policies were part of Bannon’s political strategies for his administration.

Among the 140 clemency receivers included Elliott Broidy, Trump’s former fundraiser who pleaded guilty for violating foreign lobbying laws last year; former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who is currently imprisoned because of corruption crimes; Rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black, who pleaded guilty for illegal possession of firearms.

Giuliani, who has led Trump’s legal battles in challenging the election results, has yet to be charged with a crime as authorities were investigating his Ukrainian dealings.

A power vested by the US constitution to the president, the granting of pardon is one of the privileges given to the nation’s top leader. Normally, pardons are given to people who have already been prosecuted, though it could also be issued for situations where legal proceedings have not commenced yet.  

A presidential pardon does not need any approval from other branches of government. The issuance of such act does not need any reasoning from the president. The privilege, though, is not absolute — that means that clemency can only be applied to federal crimes.

For his part, Trump had usually used the presidential pardon as a means of rewarding allies and other supporters.

Source: AOL.com