President Donald Trump has issued full pardons for his closest allies and friends, including his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, longtime Republican operative Roger Stone and Charles Kushner, the father of Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, the White House announced on Wednesday.
Manafort, 71, previously pleaded guilty to tax and financial fraud relating to his work for Ukraine’s former pro-Russia president Viktor Yanukovych, crimes not directly related to the Russia scandal but still charged through the special counsel’s office.
He spent two years in prison, including a stretch of time in solitary confinement, before being released to home confinement in May due to coronavirus concerns. He thanked the president in an emotional announcement on Twitter.
“Mr. President, my family & I humbly thank you for the Presidential Pardon you bestowed on me,” Mr Manafort wrote on Wednesday. “Words cannot fully convey how grateful we are.”
Mr. President, my family & I humbly thank you for the Presidential Pardon you bestowed on me. Words cannot fully convey how grateful we are.
— Paul Manafort (@PaulManafort) December 24, 2020
Stone was convicted on seven counts alleging he lied to Congress about communicating with WikiLeaks, tampered with witnesses, and obstructed justice in a House intelligence committee investigation into the president’s 2016 campaign. Earlier this year, the president granted Stone clemency, letting him avoid prison time.
Charles Kushner, a multimillionaire East Coast real estate developer, pleaded guilty in 2004 to 18 counts of tax evasion, witness tampering, and making illegal campaign donations.
