Trump expected to pardon Bannon in last-minute move
President Donald Trump is expected to pardon his former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, as part of a flurry of last-minute clemency action that appeared to be still in flux in the last hours of his presidency, according to a person familiar with his thinking.
The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, stressed that Trump has flip-flopped repeatedly as he mulls his final clemency action, and warned the decision could be reversed until it’s formally unveiled.
Trump is expected to offer pardons and commutations to as many as 100 people in the hours before he leaves office at noon Wednesday, according to two people briefed on the plans. The list is expected to include names unfamiliar to the American public — regular people who have spent years languishing in prison — as well as politically connected friends and allies like those he’s pardoned in the past.
Bannon has been charged with duping thousands of investors who believed their money would be used to fulfill Trump’s chief campaign promise to build a wall along the southern border. Instead, he allegedly diverted over a million dollars, paying a salar y to one campaign of ficial and personal expenses for himself.
Bannon did not respond to questions Tuesday.
Trump has already pardoned a slew of longtime associates and supporters, including his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort; Charles Kushner, the father of his son-inlaw; his longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone; and his former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Earlier in the day, Trump offered rare, kind words to his successor in a farewell video, while failing to address him by name, as he spent his final full day in office preparing to issue a flurry of pardons in a neardeserted White House, surrounded by an extraordinary security presence outside.
“This week we inaugurate a new administration and pray for its success in keeping America safe and prosperous,” Trump said in the video “farewell address,” released by the White House Tuesday afternoon. “We extend our best wishes. And we also want them to have luck. A very important word.”
Trump, who spent months trying to delegitimize President-elect Joe Biden’s win with baseless allegations of mass voter fraud, referenced the “next administration,” but declined to utter Biden’s name. Many of Trump’s supporters continue to believe the election was stolen from him, even though a long list of judges, Republican state officials and even Trump’s own government have said there is no evidence to support that claim.