Donald Trump pardons: Biggest names missing from the list

US President Donald Trump has dropped a number of bombshells in his final hours in office, with his full list of pardons released.

The full list of Donald Trump’s presidential pardons has been released.

The outgoing leader has less than 12 hours left in office, issuing full pardons to 73 individuals and commuting the sentences of an additional 70 people in what will likely be his final act as president.

The president and his children were not on the list.

One of the biggest names on the list is Mr Trump’s influential former adviser Steve Bannon, who was yet to stand trial on charges related to border wall fundraising.

The Washington Post reports the pardon was approved late on Tuesday after days of deliberations.

“Prosecutors pursued Mr Bannon with charges related to fraud stemming from his involvement in a political project. Mr Bannon has been an important leader in the conservative movement and is known for his political acumen,” the White House said, after granting Mr Bannon a pardon.

Steve Bannon has been pardoned. Picture: Getty/AFP

After an intense lobbying effort, a mix of white-collar criminals and people whose cases have been championed by criminal justice activists have been pardoned.

The first on Mr Trump’s list was Todd Boulanger.

Boulanger pleaded guilty to bribing government officials in January 2009.

“Mr Boulanger is known as a model member of his community. In addition, he is remorseful for his actions and would like to leave his mistakes behind him,” the White House said.

Death Row Records founder Michael “Harry O” Harris was informed on Tuesday that his prison sentence for attempted murder and cocaine trafficking had been commuted.

“Upon his release, Mr Harris will have a meaningful place of employment and housing with the support of his family,” the White House said in a statement.

Snoop Dogg had reportedly been lobbying the White House on behalf of Harris, despite the rapper being a fierce critic of the President and even making a video in which he pretended to shoot a clown lookalike.

Rapper Lil Wayne (real name Dwayne Carter) also made the cut.

Lil Wayne, who supported Mr Trump for re-election, pleaded guilty last year to illegally possessing a gold-plated handgun while travelling to Florida in a private jet in 2019, which was not allowed due to a prior felony conviction.

His bag also contained cocaine, ecstasy and oxycodone.

“Brett Berish of Sovereign Brands, who supports a pardon for Mr Carter, describes him as ‘trustworthy, kind-hearted and generous.’ Mr Carter has exhibited this generosity through commitment to a variety of charities, including donations to research hospitals and a host of foodbanks,” the White House said.

Rapper Lil Wayne has been pardoned. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for BET

Fellow rapper Kodak Black, whose real name is Bill Kapri, was also granted a commutation of his sentence.

The rapper was sentenced to 46 months in prison for making a false statement on a Federal document. He had served nearly half of his sentence.

“Before his conviction and after reaching success as a recording artist, Kodak Black became deeply involved in numerous philanthropic efforts,” the White House said.

Elliott Broidy, the former Deputy National Finance Chair of the Republican National Committee, was granted a full pardon.

Broidy was convicted on one count of conspiracy to serve as an unregistered agent of a foreign principal.

“Broidy is well known for his numerous philanthropic efforts, including on behalf of law enforcement, the military and veterans programs, and the Jewish community,” the White House said.

Anthony Levandowski, an ex-Google engineer who pleaded guilty to stealing self-driving car technology when he defected to Uber, was also pardoned.

“Notably, his sentencing judge called him a ‘brilliant, groundbreaking engineer that our country needs.’ Mr. Levandowski has paid a significant price for his actions and plans to devote his talents to advance the public good,” the White House said.

Anthony Levandowski was charged in August 2019. Picture: Angelo Merendino/AFP

THE FULL LIST OF TRUMP’S PARDONS

Behold, the 73 individuals Donald Trump has granted clemency to:

• Todd Boulanger

• Abel Holtz

• Representative Rick Renzi

• Kenneth Kurson

• Casey Urlacher

• Carl Andrews Boggs

• James E Johnson Jr

• Tommaso Buti

• Glen Moss

• Anthony Levandowski

• Aviem Sella

• Michael Liberty

• Greg Reyes

• Jeffrey Alan Conway

• Benedict Olberding

• Syrita Steib-Martin

• Eric Wesley Patton

• Robert William Cawthon

• Hal Knudson Mergler

• Gary Evan Hendler

• John Harold Wall

• Steven Samuel Grantham

• Clarence Olin Freeman

• Fred Keith Alford

• Alex Adjmi

• Elliott Broidy

• Stephen K Bannon

• Douglas Jemal

• Dr Scott Harkonen

• Johnny D Phillips Jr

• Dr Mahmoud Reza Banki

• John Nystrom

• Gregory Jorgensen

• Deborah Jorgensen

• Martin Jorgensen

• Jessica Frease

• Robert Cannon “Robin” Hayes

• Thomas Kenton “Ken” Ford

• Scott Conor Cosby

• Lynn Barney

• Joshua J Smith

• Amy Povah

• Dr Frederick Nahas

• David Tamman

• Dr Faustino Bernadett

• Paul Erickson

• Todd Farha

• Thaddeus Bereday

• William Kale

• Paul Behrens

• Peter Clay

• David Rowland

• Randall “Duke” Cunningham

• Dwayne Michael Carter Jr (Lil Wayne)

• Stephen Odzer

• Steven Benjamin Floyd

• David E Miller

• Joey Hancock

• James Austin Hayes

• Drew Brownstein

• Robert Bowker

• Amir Khan

• Patrick Lee Swisher

• Robert Sherrill

• Dr Robert S Corkern

• David Lamar Clanton

• George Gilmore

• Desiree Perez

• Robert “Bob” Zangrillo

• Hillel Nahmad

• Brian McSwain

• John Duncan Fordham

• William “Ed” Henry

And the 70 people Donald Trump has commuted the sentences of:

• Jaime A. Davidson

• Bill K Kapri

• Jawad A Musa

• Adriana Shayota

• Ferrell Damon Scott

• Jerry Donnell Walden

• Michael Ashley

• Lou Hobbs

• Matthew Antoine Canady

• Mario Claiborne

• Rodney Nakia Gibson

• Tom Leroy Whitehurst

• Monstsho Eugene Vernon

• Luis Fernando Sicard

• DeWayne Phelps

• Isaac Nelson

• Traie Tavares Kelly

• Javier Gonzales

• John Knock

• Kenneth Charles Fragoso

• Luis Gonzalez

• Anthony DeJohn

• Corvain Cooper

• Way Quoe Long

• Michael Pelletier

• Craig Cesal

• Darrell Frazier

• Lavonne Roach

• Blanca Virgen

• Robert Francis

• Brian Simmons

• Derrick Smith

• Raymond Hersman

• David Barren

• James Romans

• Jonathon Braun

• Michael Harris

• Kyle Kimoto

• Chalana McFarland

• Eliyahu Weinstein

• John Estin Davis

• Noah Kleinman

• Tena Logan

• MaryAnne Locke

• April Coots

• Caroline Yeats

• Jodi Lynn Richter

• Kristina Bohnenkamp

• Mary Roberts

• Cassandra Ann Kasowski

• Lerna Lea Paulson

• Ann Buttler

• Sydney Navarro

• Tara Perry

• Jon Harder

• Chris Young

• Adrianne Miller

• Kwame Kilpatrick

• Fred “Dave” Clark

• William Walters

• James Brian Cruz

• Shalom Weiss

• Salomon Melgen

• Jeff Cheney

• Marquis Dargon

• Jennings Gilbert

• Dwayne L Harrison

• Reginald Dinez Johnson

• Sharon King

• Hector Madrigal Sr

WHAT ABOUT ASSANGE AND SNOWDEN?

Mr Trump had previously entertained pardons for Australian WikiLeaks founder Assange and mass surveillance whistleblower Snowden, but backed down reportedly due to pressure from Senate Republicans and the advice of White House counsel Pat Cipollone.

Assange is currently in the UK fighting extradition to the US to face espionage charges, which carry a maximum of 175 years in prison, while Snowden has been living in Russia ever since leaking troves of documents about the National Security Agency’s highly secretive spying programs.

According to CNN, Mr Trump decided against pardons for the two men out of fear of angering Republicans who will soon decide whether he is convicted in his Senate impeachment trial.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange had been tipped for a pardon. Picture: Justin Tallis/AFP

The broadcaster says multiple Senators sent messages through aides that they felt strongly about not granting clemency to Assange or Snowden.

Mr Trump has, also according to latest US media reports, moved away from the temptation to issue himself a pre-emptive pardon. This would anger his Republican backers in the Senate right ahead of the start of the impeachment trial.

Although Mr Trump was easily acquitted thanks to party support in his first impeachment last year, this time it may not go so well.

Senior Senate Republican McConnell said in blistering comments Tuesday that Mr Trump had “provoked” his supporters and that the “mob was fed lies” before embarking on the assault against Congress.

WHO HAS TRUMP PARDONED ALREADY?

The President had already used his final days in office to issue scores of pardons to his closest allies, including several people caught up in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s three-year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, which ultimately found no evidence of collusion between members of the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

Last month he pardoned former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was facing seven-and-a-half years in jail after being convicted of unrelated financial crimes including tax evasion and money laundering.

Roger Stone, a long-time Trump ally who had already received a commutation of his prison sentence for lying to Congress, was also granted a pardon, along with former campaign Adviser George Papadopoulos and lawyer Alex van der Zwaan – both of whom the White House said had been charged with “process-related” crimes by the Mueller investigation.

US President Donald Trump is expected to pardon around 150 people. Picture: Mandel Ngan / AFP

That came after Mr Trump pardoned his former national security Adviser Mike Flynn, who was also charged by the Mueller probe with lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador during the 2016 transition.

The Department of Justice had been attempting to drop its prosecution of General Flynn since May last year after an independent review ordered by Attorney-General Bill Barr uncovered prosecutorial misconduct.

Also among the recent controversial pardons have been several former Republican Congressmen facing prison sentences for fraud and other charges, and four former private security contractors who were convicted in connection with the massacre of 17 Iraqi civilians in Nisour Square, Baghdad, in 2007.