Donald Trump Pardons Mueller Investigation Subjects and Former Congressmen

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump issued a series of lame-duck pardons to a variety of individuals, including those who pleaded guilty in the Robert Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. According to CNN, Trump pardoned two of the men who pleaded guilty during Mueller’s investigation. Additionally, he pardoned some of his Republican allies who once served in Congress and military contractors who were involved in a deadly shooting of Iraqi civilians.

Trump pardoned former campaign aide George Papadopoulos, who went to prison for lying to investigators about his contact with individuals tied to Russia during the 2016 election. He also issued pardons to two former United States congressmen, Duncan Hunter and Chris Collins. The president issued pardons to four Blackwater guards who were involved in the massacre of Iraqi civilians and two Border Patrol agents who were convicted in 2006 of shooting and wounding an unarmed undocumented immigrant and then trying to cover it up. In addition to those individuals, Trump pardoned Alex van der Zwaan, a Dutch lawyer who was sentenced to 30 days in jail for lying to investigators regarding the Mueller investigation.

The president also issued pardons to several individuals who were convicted of non-violent drug crimes who were serving lengthy sentences. CNN reported that Alice Johnson, the former federal inmate serving a lengthy sentence for a non-violent, drug-related offense, urged the president to issue pardons to many of those non-violent drug offenders. Trump previously commuted Johnson’s sentence at the urging of Kim Kardashian, who was heavily involved in her case.

Trump’s pardons weren’t the only things making headlines on Tuesday. Not only did he issue an array of pardons, but the president also voiced his disapproval of the $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill that was passed by both the House and the Senate. While Trump was widely expected to sign the bill into law, he shared his criticisms for the package on Tuesday. More specifically, he took issue with the amount that was allocated for stimulus checks (under the plan, eligible Americans would receive $600). Trump said that the Americans should receive a $2,000 check instead. Many Democrats already shared that they would be on board with sending direct $2,000 payments to Americans. However, it’s unclear if the measure will garner enough support in order to pass.