Daily US Times: Outgoing Donald Trump is preparing to issue around one hundred presidential pardons and commutations on his final full day in the Oval Office Tuesday, according to three people familiar with the topic, a major batch of clemency actions that includes high-profile rappers, white collar criminals and others but — as of now — is not expected to include Trump himself.
Two sources said the White House held a meeting on Sunday to finalize the list of pardons.
Donald Trump, who had been rolling out commutations and pardons at a steady clip ahead of Christmas, had put a pause on them in the days leading up to and directly after the US Capitol riots in January 6.
Aides said President Trump was singularly focused on the Electoral College count in the days ahead of time, precluding him for making final decisions on presidential pardons. Officials in the White House had expected them to resume after January 6, but the president retreated after he was blamed for inciting the riots.
Initially, two major lists had been ready to roll out, one at the end of last week and one on Tuesday. Now, officials expect the last batch to be the only one — unless the president decides at the last minute to grant pardons to controversial allies, himself or members of his family.
The final batch of pardons is expected to include a mix of criminal justice reform-minded pardons and more controversial ones secured or doled out to political allies.
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