On his final day in office, President Donald Trump issued a raft of pardons and commutations to individuals for crimes ranging from drug offenses, weapon charges, bribery and more. In total, Trump issued 74 pardons and 70 commutations on Wednesday, Jan. 20. Originally, Trump’s office released a list of 143 pardons and commutations but added a last-minute pardon to Albert J. Pirro Jr.
While many of the pardons and commutations went to relatively unknown individuals, there were a number of notable figures who made the list of pardons. Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon was pardoned for his role in an alleged wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy related to a “We Build the Wall” crowdfunding campaign. Rapper Lil Wayne, full name Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., was pardoned for a federal weapons charge.
Former U.S. Congressman Randall “Duke” Cunningham was also among the list of pardons. A California native and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives for California’s 50thDistrict, Cunningham pleaded guilty to accepting $2.4 million in bribes from defense companies and to tax evasion.
He was sentenced to eight years in prison and was released in 2013.
Following his prison sentence, he moved to Arkansas and has resided in Hot Springs Village.
Cunningham received a conditional pardon, according to the White House pardon list.
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