Donald Trump is expected to grant further waves of audacious pardons for allies and supporters – possibly even for himself – in a frenzied final month as US president.
Trump caused revulsion at home and abroad with dozens of pardons that included on Tuesday four former government contractors convicted in a 2007 massacre in Baghdad that left more than a dozen Iraqi civilians dead. On Wednesday the slew of pardons included close political allies such as Roger Stone and Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort as well as Charles Kushner, the father of his own son-in-law and top adviser, Jared Kushner.
The pardons of Manafort and Stone rewarded two of the most notorious of Trump’s former advisers, both of whom were convicted of crimes after being indicted by the special counsel Robert Mueller, who investigated Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign.
Critics warned that the flood of pardons is still likely only the beginning. In the waning weeks of his presidency, Trump is said to be considering further interventions on behalf of aides, friends and family members he believes have been unfairly jailed, indicted or put in legal jeopardy.
The pardons on Tuesday also included two men convicted as a result of a special counsel investigation into Trump’s ties with Russia, three corrupt former Republican congressmen and, perhaps most controversially, four security guards employed by a private security company in Iraq.
Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard were all serving lengthy prison sentences. Prosecutors alleged the men launched an unprovoked attack in a busy traffic circle using sniper fire, machine guns and grenade launchers in September 2007 in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square.
Iraqis condemned the act of clemency as a betrayal by western allies. Ali Bayati of Iraq’s Human Rights Commission told the AFP news agency: “The latest decision confirms these countries’ violations of human rights and international law. They grant immunity to their soldiers even as they claim to protect human rights.”
Critics in the US pointed out that the four men worked for Blackwater, which was founded by Erik Prince, one of Trump’s longtime supporters and allies. Prince is the brother of Betsy DeVos, the education secretary.
Hina Shamsi, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s national security project, said the shootings caused “devastation in Iraq, shame and horror in the United States, and a worldwide scandal. President Trump insults the memory of the Iraqi victims and further degrades his office with this action”.
There were also pardons for three Republican congressmen, including the first two to endorse Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016. Duncan Hunter pleaded guilty last year to misusing campaign funds and was sentenced to 11 months’ imprisonment. Chris Collins pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to commit securities fraud and making false statements to the FBI and is serving his 26-month sentence.
The president also granted clemency to George Papadopoulos, a former campaign aide who pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to FBI agents about the timing and significance of his contacts with people who claimed to have ties to top Russian officials.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
