Those pardoned 'repay their debt of gratitude' to Mr. Trump

People who were pardoned by Donald Trump during his four years in office are actively campaigning to support his return to the White House.

Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Arizona’s Maricopa County, announced in August that he was running for mayor of Fountain Hills, a town near Phoenix. But he’s not just courting voters. Arpaio often asks voters whether they would support Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

The 77-year-old former president was the one who saved Arpaio from prison in August 2017 with a controversial pardon. The Maricopa County sheriff was accused earlier that year of violating a court order to limit the arbitrary arrest of Latinos on suspicion of being illegal immigrants.

Trump tore up all precedents to “rescue” Arpaio. He asked Jeff Sessions, then Attorney General, for advice on how to vacate Arpaio’s case before the indictment was filed. However, this effort failed and Arpaio had to stand trial.

A month after the court sentenced Arpaio to six months in prison, Trump announced he was pardoning the former Maricopa County sheriff without consulting the Justice Department , and ignoring a recommendation to wait at least five years from the time of conviction before considering expungement. Arpaio had not yet served his sentence and had not yet applied for a pardon.

Over the past six years, Arpaio, 91, has been a close ally of Trump in his anti-immigration advocacy. Arpaio has also been a vocal supporter of Trump in the battleground state of Arizona, actively campaigning for voters and spreading messages of support for the former president and his favored politicians .

Joe Arpaio, former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, campaigned for the people of Fountain Hills to elect him mayor. Photo: Washington Post

"The Arpaio case created an unprecedented impression that the president could use the pardon power as a gift to allies and to score points with voters. It was almost a transaction to advance the president's interests," said Larry Kupers, the former head of the agency that receives pardons in the US Justice Department, who resigned after the first half of Mr. Trump's term.

During his four years in office, Mr. Trump has signed 238 pardons, including 194 decisions announced in the last two months of his term, surpassing President Bill Clinton's record in 2001 of 176 pardons approved before leaving the White House.

Experts and former US officials say Mr. Trump's pardons have unprecedented impact, as he continues to dominate the Republican Party and run for re-election as president.

The list of pardons includes many politically influential individuals who are admired by Trump’s loyal constituency. Dozens of those who have been pardoned by Trump appear to be returning the favor, from contributing financially, praising and defending him in the media and on social media, to directly joining his campaign committee.

Stephen K. Bannon, the former White House chief political adviser, and Dinesh D'Souza, the right-wing political commentator, have both invited Trump to appear on their television and radio shows. Bannon was pardoned by Trump shortly before he left office, acquitting him of federal charges of campaign finance fraud for the border wall. D'Souza was pardoned in 2018, four years after pleading guilty to violating New York election finance laws.

John Tate, who pleaded guilty to bribery of the Iowa Republican Electoral College in 2012, was cleared by Trump in 2020. Tate's political consulting firm was hired by Trump to assist his presidential campaign, according to public financial reports.

Charles Kushner, Mr Trump’s in-law, this year donated $1 million to a campaign fund to help the former president return to the White House. Charles Kushner, a New York real estate developer, served two years in prison in 2005-2006 for tax fraud, witness tampering and perjury. He was pardoned and cleared by Trump in 2020.

Former President Donald Trump at a campaign event in Hialeah, Florida on November 8. Photo: Reuters

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, revealed in his 2022 memoir that his father-in-law called his family to offer a pardon and signed the order, even though Charles Kushner did not initiate the request.

In addition to providing a media and financial boost to Trump, those who have been pardoned by the former president have also helped defend him in his current series of legal battles. They support the theory that the prosecutions and civil lawsuits against Trump at the state and federal levels are part of a Democratic “witch hunt” aimed at preventing him from returning to the White House.

Phil Lyman, a Utah House member pardoned in 2020, accused the current administration of being “weaponized against Donald Trump.” Media mogul Conrad Black, pardoned in 2019 after being convicted of financial fraud in 2007, criticized the criminal charges against the former president as “a threat to American democracy.”

Rod Blagojevich, a former Illinois governor and Democrat, has called the federal investigations into Mr Trump a “malicious political ploy”. Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2011 for accepting bribes in exchange for selling his seat as an Illinois senator. He was pardoned by Trump and released early in 2020.

Although Mr Trump has benefited from previous pardons, the former president said in 2018 that he only wanted justice for "those who have been treated unfairly".

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said the pardons granted between 2017 and 2021 went through a “thorough review and evaluation process” and that Trump “personally reviewed each case.” Jared Kushner wrote in his memoir that his father-in-law only intervened in “merited cases” and demonstrated his belief that the law was unfair.

"Mr. Trump is not going to be constrained by procedures written by Justice Department officials. He will do what he deems necessary," commented Jack Wilenchik, Arpaio's lawyer.

Thanh Danh (According to Washington Post )

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