President Donald Trump has pardoned his former chief strategist Steve Bannon, who has been prosecuted for defrauding donor over $1 million, in a last-minute decision made only hours before he is scheduled to depart the White House for a final time.
Trump, according to a report by CNN, told people that after much deliberation, he had decided to pardon Bannon as one of his final acts in office.
“President Trump granted a full pardon to Stephen Bannon. Prosecutors pursued Mr. Bannon with charges related to fraud stemming from his involvement in a political project,” the statement from White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany read.
“Mr. Bannon has been an important leader in the conservative movement and is known for his political acumen.”
Bannon faces a federal case that began in August when New York federal prosecutors charged him and three others with defrauding donors of more than a million dollars as part of a fundraising campaign purportedly aimed at supporting Trump’s border wall.
Bannon’s pardon would follow a frantic scramble during the President’s final hours in office as attorneys and top aides debated his inclusion on Trump’s outgoing clemency list.
Despite their falling out in recent years, Trump was eager to pardon his former aide after recently reconnecting with him as he helped fan Trump’s conspiracy theories about the election.
