Whom might Donald Trump pardon in final day of presidency? | News

On Jan 19, 2021

On his final full day in office on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump – who himself faces legal jeopardy – is expected to pardon as many as 100 people, local media reported, capping a tumultuous four-year term in office.

Reuters reported sources on Tuesday saying that the rapper Lil Wayne, who faces a 10 year sentence over gun charges was on the list, but not his former adviser Steve Bannon or private lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

Last-minute presidential pardons have long been customary for outgoing US presidents.

Although the authority was put in place to give presidents humanitarian authority to overturn wrongful convictions, to commute excessively harsh sentences to rehabilitated individuals, or make a gesture of mercy – many presidents have used the power as favours for supporters and allies.

And Trump appears on track to carry on that tradition.

What is a presidential pardon?

The US Constitution awards the president the authority to issue “reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States”.

But a president can only pardon federal crimes, and not state crimes. And he cannot issue pardons for impeachment cases in Congress.

Legal experts noted that a pardon does not overturn a conviction, it rather exempts the person of punishment – such as jail time or monetary fines – under that conviction.

Although most pardons are issued to people who have already been sentenced in court, they can also be pre-emptive, covering conduct that has not yet been prosecuted or led to a guilty verdict, but they cannot apply to crimes committed in the future.

Perhaps the most famous example of a pre-emptive pardon in US history is that of President Gerald Ford who pardoned his predecessor Richard Nixon after he resigned in 1974 for all crimes he might have committed while in office.

Who is in line for a pardon?

According to Reuters news agency, the rapper Lil Wayne is expected to be pardoned.

Lil Wayne, who appeared to back Trump’s reelection bid last year, pleaded guilty last month to a Miami gun charge and faces as many as 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on January 28.

Sources also confirmed to the news agency a report in the New York Times that Trump would also grant clemency to former New York Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver, 76, who was convicted of corruption charges in 2015.

While there has been fevered speculation that Trump will also pardon his former campaign adviser , and co-founder of the far-right Breitbart News, Steve Bannon, as well as his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, sources told Reuters that was not likely.

Bannon was charged last year with lying to donors about how their contributions to a campaign to build a wall along the US-Mexico…