Donald Trump pardons Steve Bannon among others; how Joe Exotic fared

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

The outgoing president has issued full pardons to 73 individuals and has commuted the sentences of an additional 70 people.

This list included rapper Lil Wayne and former top aide Steve Bannon.

Bannon was yet to stand trial on charges related to border wall fundraising.

Full list of clemency is 143, according to official White House list.

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 20, 2021

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.

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 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.

In a post-midnight announcement on his last day in office, Trump grants pardons or commutations to 143 people, including Steve Bannon, Kwame Kilpatrick, Elliott Broidy, Robin Hayes, Rick Renzi and Duke Cunningham.

— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) January 20, 2021

The lawyers for the man known as "Joe Exotic" had a limo standing by for his release from prison, as they were "extremely confident" about their client getting a pardon.

Joseph Maldonado-Passage was convicted and sentenced to 22 years in prison for a murder-for-hire plot and for violating wildlife laws. He became the star of Netflix documentary 'Tiger King' last year.

"We've got hair, makeup, wardrobes. Trust me, anything you can think of we have it, including a doctor and also a mental health expert," his lawyer earlier told KOCO News.

However he did not make the list.

Donald Trump has not pardoned himself. Photo / AP

Fellow rapper Kodak Black, whose real name is Bill Kapri, was 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.

WHAT ABOUT ASSANGE AND SNOWDEN?

Trump had previously entertained pardons for Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and mass surveillance whistleblower Edward 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, 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.

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

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 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 Trump had "provoked" his supporters and that the "mob was fed lies" before embarking on the assault against Congress.

THE FULL LIST OF TRUMP'S PARDONS

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

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