PARDONS/PAUL MANAFORT/ROGER STONE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Trump doled out clemency to a new group of loyalists on Wednesday, wiping away convictions and sentences as he aggressively employed his power to override courts, juries and prosecutors to apply his own standard of justice for his allies.
One recipient of a pardon was a family member, Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Two others who were pardoned declined to cooperate with prosecutors in connection with the special counsel’s Russia investigation: Paul Manafort, his 2016 campaign chairman, and Roger J. Stone Jr., his longtime informal adviser and friend…
Of the 65 pardons and commutations that Mr. Trump had granted before Wednesday, 60 have gone to petitioners who had a personal tie to Mr. Trump or who helped his political aims.”
-Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt, “Trump Gives Clemency to More Allies, Including Manafort, Stone and Charles Kushner,” nytimes.com, Dec. 23, 2020