As one of his final actions in office, President Donald Trump issued more than 140 pardons and commutations.
He did not however include Julian Assange or Edward Snowden as many people were hoping.
Trump along with his daughter Ivanka, son-in-law, Jared Kushner and other close aides drew up the list during a Sunday meeting in the Oval Office.
People on the list include:
• Rapper Lil Wayne
• Rapper Kodak Black
• Former chief strategist Steve Bannon
• Former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick of Detroit
• Former RNC finance chair Elliott Broidy
Many people whom were speculated to appear however, did not make it onto the president’s final list, including Rudy Giuliani, Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, and Joe Exotic.
According to BusinessInsider Trump allies believed many of the recipients were people the president expected to enjoy beneficial relationships with after leaving office.
A month ago Trump pardoned 46 people and commuted sentences of eight other people. On this list include several people who were personally connected to Trump himself.
Names on the list included:
- George Papadopoulos, a former Trump campaign foreign-policy aide who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in the Russia investigation.
- Alex van der Zwaan, a Dutch lawyer who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in the Russia investigation.
- Roger Stone, a Republican strategist who was convicted in the Russia investigation of multiple felony counts of making false statements, obstruction, and witness tampering.
- Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman who was convicted of eight counts of tax fraud, bank fraud, and failure to report foreign bank accounts, and who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction.
- Charles Kushner, Jared’s father, a former real-estate businessman who pleaded guilty in 2005 to 16 counts of tax evasion, one count of retaliating against a federal witness, and one count of lying to the Federal Election Commission.
- Former Republican Rep. Steve Stockman, who was convicted of 23 counts of fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, and false statements.
- Former Republican Rep. Chris Collins, who pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI and conspiring to commit securities fraud.
- Former Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife, Margaret, who pleaded guilty to misusing campaign funds.
- Four former Blackwater guards convicted in connection to the massacre of more than a dozen Iraqi civilians in Baghdad’s Nisour Square in 2007.
- Two former Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting and injuring an unarmed immigrant in 2006.
Trump also pardoned his former national security advisor Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI as part of the Russia investigation.
Trump is granted extraordinarily broad pardon powers under the Constitution, however has drawn significant scrutiny for circumventing the lengthy legal and ethical review process at the Justice Department that determines who gets executive clemency.
The vast majority of the president’s highest-profile pardons and commutations have gone to friends and loyalists and sometimes to others whose names were suggested by conservative media powerhouses.