SUMMARY
Trump has made a mockery of the justice system by pardoning corrupt sycophants and well-heeled supporters of his campaigns or business ventures. His use of executive clemency has sent out a clear message that corruption is more than welcome under his administration.
November 2019: Stone Was Convicted Of Seven Criminal Charges, Including Lying To Congress And Witness Tampering. According to CNBC, “Roger Stone, a longtime friend and confidant of President Donald Trump, was convicted Friday of lying to Congress and witness tampering as part of an effort to hide his contacts with WikiLeaks during the 2016 presidential election. Stone, a self-described political trickster, was convicted of all seven criminal counts that he faced at his trial in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.: five counts of false statements, and one count each of obstruction of proceedings and witness tampering.” [CNBC, 11/15/19]
Stone’s Witness Tampering Charge Largely Stemmed From Violent Threats Against Randy Credico And His Dog. According to the Intelligencer, “Much of the evidence for the witness-tampering charge relied on text messages Stone sent to Credico, bullying him into keeping quiet as lawmakers investigated Stone’s role in the Trump campaign. In April of 2018, Stone derided his former friend: ‘When I wipe my ass what’s on the toilet paper is worth more than you are. You’re an alcoholic drug addicted out of work piece of shit.’ Another text attacked Credico’s therapy dog, Bianca: ‘I’m going to take that dog away from you. Not a fucking thing you can do about it either because you are a weak piece of shit.’ More summarily, he texted Credico: ‘Let’s get it on. Prepare to die cock sucker.’” [Intelligencer, 11/8/19]
February 2020: Stone Was Sentenced To 40 Months In Prison And $20,000 In Fines. According to Slate, “On Thursday, one of the replacement prosecutors said that at least one of the original sentencing enhancements—over a violent threat Stone made to a witness, one part of the calculation that led to the original recommendation of seven to nine years—should still apply. Judge Amy Berman Jackson agreed on that particular sentencing enhancement but also felt the sentencing guidelines were ‘inflated’ and opted for a 40-month sentence and $20,000 fine.” [Slate, 2/20/20]
June 2020: Justice Department Lawyers For Stone’s Case Alleged That Barr Intervened To “Water Down” Stone’s Sentence, Due To Stone’s Relationship With Trump. According to CNN, “Zelinsky, who now works in the Maryland US Attorney's Office, told the Judiciary Committee Wednesday that the Justice Department sentencing recommendation for Trump's longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone was watered down due to political pressure from the ‘highest levels’ of the Justice Department as a result of Stone's ‘relationship with the President.’ Zelinsky, who took Stone's case to court, said in response to House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler's questions that Barr's decision in the Stone case was wrong, unethical and against department policy.” [CNN, 6/24/20]
July 2020: Trump Commuted Stone’s Sentence Before He Was Sent To Prison. According to the New York Times, “President Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime friend Roger J. Stone Jr. on seven felony crimes on Friday, using the power of his office to spare a former campaign adviser days before Mr. Stone was to report to a federal prison to serve a 40-month term.” [New York Times, 7/13/20]
Trump Was Involved In Events, Which Were At The Heart Of Mueller’s Investigation That Led To Stone’s Trial. According to Buzzfeed News, “He was arrested in January 2019 after former special counsel Robert Mueller’s office indicted him on charges of lying to the House Intelligence Committee about his contacts with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. WikiLeaks had published emails, obtained by Russians, from the hacked servers of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Stone and Trump made phone calls in 2016, prosecutors showed, including the same day the DNC announced it had been hacked. Stone told Trump via speakerphone that the leaks were coming, but that he ‘did not know what the content of the materials was,’ to which Trump responded, ‘oh good, alright,’ according to unredacted transcript's of Mueller's report.” [Buzzfeed News, 7/10/20]
July 13, 2020: Judge Jackson Asked For A Written Order Of The Commutation In Advance Of Concluding With Stone. According to court records, “MINUTE ORDER as to ROGER J. STONE, JR. In response to questions raised by the U.S. Probation Office, the parties are ORDERED to provide the Court by July 14, 2020 with a copy of the Executive Order commuting the defendant's sentence and to address the question of the scope of the commutation, in particular, whether it involves the sentence of incarceration alone or also the period of supervised release.” [Court Listener, 7/13/20]
After Prodding From Judge Jackson, Trump Produced The Executive Grant Of Clemency, Clearing Stone Of All Jail Time, Fines, And Supervised Released. According to Trump’s Grant of Clemency, “I commute the entirety of the prison sentence imposed upon the said Roger Jason Stone, Jr.:to expire immediately; I also commute the entirety of the two-year term of supervised release with all its conditions; and finally, I remit ay unpaid remainder of the $20,000 fine imposed.” [DOJ, 7/13/20]
September 2014: D’Souza Was Sentenced To Five Years Of Probation After Pleading Guilty To Campaign Finance Fraud. According to the FBI, “Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that DINESH D’SOUZA was sentenced in Manhattan federal court to five years of probation, with eight months during the first year to be served in a community confinement center, after having pled guilty to violating the federal campaign election law by making illegal contributions to a United States Senate campaign in the names of others. D’SOUZA was sentenced today before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman.” [FBI, 9/23/14]
May 2018: Trump Pardoned D’Souza, Who Framed His Guilty Plea As A Partisan Attack. According to the New York Times, “Dinesh D’Souza, the conservative author and filmmaker pardoned by President Trump, claimed victory on Friday over what he characterized as a political prosecution by the administration of President Barack Obama. In terms that evidently resonated with Mr. Trump, who is aggrieved about investigations that he blames on his predecessor, Mr. D’Souza presented himself as a victim of selective justice, hounded by Mr. Obama’s attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr., and the United States attorney in New York, Preet Bharara, because he made a movie sharply critical of Mr. Obama.” [New York Times, 6/1/18]
D’Souza Made Films In Support Of Trump And Attacking His Political Foes. According to the Hollywood Reporter, “Weeks after being pardoned by President Donald Trump, Dinesh D'Souza is unveiling the trailer for his latest movie. Quality Flix opens the conservative's latest documentary film, Death of a Nation, in 1,000 theaters on Aug. 3. The film likens Abraham Lincoln to Donald Trump — saying that the situations they found themselves in as U.S. presidents are very similar, according to the filmmaker. […] D'Souza's first three films, 2016: Obama's America; America: Imagine a World Without Her; and Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party, were huge hits as far as documentaries go.” [Hollywood Reporter, 7/13/20]
2010: Pogue Was Fined $743,000 For False Tax Filings. According to McKinney Courier-Gazette, “A federal judge in the U.S. Eastern District of Texas court sentenced Paul Pogue to three years of probation for filing false income tax statements. Pogue will also have to pay $250,000 in fines and a total restitution of $473,000 for the monies he failed to report and complete 1,000 hours of community service, according to court records.” [McKinney Courier-Gazette, 8/27/10]
Pogue’s Family Made Over $200,000 In Contributions To Trump’s Campaign And PAC. According to Business Insider, “According to the Federal Election Commission, Paul's son, Ben Pogue — the new CEO of Pogue Construction — and Ben's wife, Ashleigh, made over $200,000 in donations to both the Trump Victory PAC and Trump's official presidential campaign. In August of last year, Ben Pogue and his wife made a collective donation of $135,000 to Trump Victory. Ben also made an in-kind air travel donation to Trump Victory in September, The Daily Beast reported.” [Business Insider, 2/19/20]
February 2020: Trump Granted Pogue A Full Pardon. According to Business Insider, “President Donald Trump granted a full pardon and clemency to a construction company owner whose family donated over $200,000 to his presidential campaign.” [Business Insider, 2/19/20]
April 1990: Milken Was Indicted On 98 Counts Of Racketeering, Fraud, And Other Crimes. His Plea Deal Was For Six Lesser Charges. According to the New York Times, “In pleading guilty to six lesser charges, Mr. Milken appears to have avoided the much longer prison sentence that would have been likely had he been convicted of the harsher counts of insider trading and racketeering. Charged With 98 Counts Last March, Mr. Milken was charged with 98 counts of racketeering, securities fraud, mail fraud and other crimes. Had Mr. Milken been convicted of racketeering, he could have been sentenced to as much as 20 years in prison and forced to forfeit most of his wealth. Lawyers involved in the case expect Mr. Milken to serve five years or less.” [New York Times, 4/21/90]
February 1992: Milken Was Required to Pay $1.3 Billion Dollars In Assorted Fines And Settlements Stemming From His Crimes. According to the New York Times, “Michael R. Milken has agreed to pay an additional $500 million and a number of his former colleagues at Drexel Burnham Lambert have agreed to pay $300 million to settle many of the civil lawsuits arising from the failure of the brokerage firm. Drexel's insurers have agreed to pay $100 million to settle the claims. With the $400 million that Mr. Milken previously put in a fund to compensate victims of his securities frauds, the total settlement is $1.3 billion.” [New York Times, 2/18/92]
Milken Issued $675 Million In Junk Bonds To Trump In The 1980s To Help Finish Building The Taj Mahal In Atlantic City. According to According to The Washington Post, “Trump was a benefactor of Milken’s work developing the junk-bond market. In the 1980s, as Trump scrambled to finish building the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, he issued $675 million in junk bonds, with a 14 percent interest rate, to complete construction and get the casino open, the New York Times reported.” [Washington Post, 2/18/20]
Blagojevich Was Convicted Of Holding Up $8 Million Of Government Funds For A Children’s Hospital To Get A Campaign Donation. According to the Chicago Tribune, “Convicted of: Wire fraud, attempted extortion, bribery. In summer 2008, Children's Memorial Hospital, now Lurie Children's Hospital, was lobbying Blagojevich to raise state reimbursement rates for pediatric specialists. It was within Blagojevich's authority to raise those rates. Blagojevich was convicted of holding up the $8 million funding increase in an effort to get the CEO of the hospital to hold a $25,000 fundraiser.” [Chicago Tribune, 2/18/20]
Blagojevich Attempted To Sell A Vacated Senate Seat For $1.5 Million In Campaign Donations. According to the Chicago Tribune, “Blagojevich angled to hand the Senate post to U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. in exchange for $1.5 million in donations promised by Jackson supporters. The Senate scheme produced perhaps the most iconic quote from the entire affair: ‘I've got this thing and it's (expletive) golden,’ Blagojevich said in a conversation secretly recorded by government agents. ‘I'm not just giving it up for (expletive) nothing.’” [Chicago Tribune, 2/18/20]
February 2020: Trump Commuted Blagojevich’s Sentence. According to the Chicago Tribune, “Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, in prison for trying to sell Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat, was not due for release until May 2024. With Tuesday’s commutation by President Donald Trump Blagojevich should be freed four years early. Blagojevich was convicted in connection with three schemes, including the attempted sale of a Senate seat. He was found guilty on 11 criminal counts related to the Senate seat and six counts involving fundraising shakedowns of a hospital executive and racetrack owner. Five counts related to the Senate seat were later dismissed on appeal.” [Chicago Tribune, 2/18/20]
August 2019: Trump Downplayed The Seriousness Of Blagojevich’s Crimes, Saying It Was Merely “Braggadocio.” According to NBC Chicago, “After hinting at a possible pardon or commutation of the sentence of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, President Donald Trump made his strongest statement yet on the matter Wednesday, telling reporters aboard Air Force One that he is seriously considering commuting the former governor’s sentence. ‘I'm thinking about commuting his sentence very strongly,’ the president told reporters. ‘He's been in jail for seven years over a phone call where nothing happens, over a phone call which he shouldn't have said what he said, but it was braggadocio, you would say.’” [NBC Chicago, 8/7/19]
February 2020: Trump Granted A Full Pardon To Kerik For Tax Fraud And Lying To White House Officials. According to the New York Times, “Bernard B. Kerik, a onetime New York police commissioner and close ally of former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, was one of 11 people to receive executive grants of clemency from President Trump on Tuesday. Mr. Kerik was granted a full pardon for his 2010 conviction on eight felonies, including tax fraud and lying to White House officials.” [New York Times, 2/18/20]
Kerik Was Considered A Close Ally Of Giuliani, Having First Worked For Him During Giuliani’s Mayoral Race. According to the New York Times, “Bernard B. Kerik, a onetime New York police commissioner and close ally of former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, was one of 11 people to receive executive grants of clemency from President Trump on Tuesday […] Mr. Kerik began his rise to prominence as Mr. Giuliani’s bodyguard and chauffeur during the 1993 mayoral race.” [New York Times, 2/18/20]
July 2007: Black Was Convicted Of Fraud And Obstruction Of Justice. According to the BBC, “Media tycoon Conrad Black has been convicted of three charges of fraud and one of obstructing justice. Black, 62, was cleared of racketeering and tax evasion but could face 35 years in jail when sentenced on 30 November.” [BBC, 7/13/07]
May 2019: Trump Pardoned Black. According to the New York Times, “President Trump on Wednesday granted a full pardon to Conrad M. Black, the former press baron and onetime society fixture who was found guilty of fraud and obstruction of justice in 2007. The pardon of Mr. Black, a political ally and longtime associate of Mr. Trump’s, was the latest example of the president using one of the unilateral powers of his office to absolve a high-profile public figure whose case resonates with him personally, bucking the more traditional practice of sifting through thousands of pardon applications awaiting his review.” [New York Times, 5/15/19]
The Pardon Came After Black Made Repeated Publications Praising Trump. According to the New York Times, “His pardon of Mr. Black, a personal friend and the author of pro-Trump opinion pieces as well as a flattering book, “Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other,” is his first since the release of the special counsel’s report, which did not come to any conclusion on whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice.” [New York Times, 5/15/19]