Trump goes on pardon spree, granting clemency to 11 felons, including ex-governor Rod Blagojevich and junk bond king Michael Milken
- Blagojevich freed after serving only eight years of 14-year prison term for trying to sell Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama
- Michael Milken was the face of insider trading scandals of the 1980s
US President Donald Trump granted full pardons or commutations Tuesday to 11 convicted felons, including Michael Milken, the former junk bond king who became a face of the insider trading financial scandals of the 1980s, in a mass clemency that expanded his interventions in judicial matters following his Senate impeachment acquittal.
Among those who had their sentences commuted by Trump was former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who has served eight years of a 14 year prison term after he was found guilty for trying to sell an open US Senate seat that had been held by Barack Obama.
The president also made clear he has not ruled out pardoning Roger Stone, who is expected to be sentenced in federal court Thursday.
Stone, an informal adviser to Trump, was convicted in November of seven counts of witness tampering and lying to Congress during the special counsel probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
“I haven’t given it any thought,” Trump told reporters. “But I think he’s being treated unfairly.”
Trump announced the pardons at Joint Base Andrews as he embarked on a four-day west coast swing and just hours after the White House announced the first pardon, that of former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jnr, who was convicted in a gambling fraud scandal.