SERIES OF PARDONS IN FINAL OFFICE HOURS

Trump's last-minute pardons include ex-strategist Steve Bannon, 73 others

Outgoing President Donald Trump has pardoned his for mer political strategist Steve Bannon, one of the key architects of his 2016 electoral victory, as he issued a wave of pardons using the final hours of his presidency to grant clemency to 143 people.

The record 73 pardons and 70 commutations came in addition to the dozens of similar actions that Trump took after he lost the November 3 presidential elections to Joe Biden of the Democratic Party.

The White House in a statement issued on Wednesday said that Trump granted a full pardon to Bannon, who was in charge of the final months of his 2016 presidential campaign.

Bannon was indicted in August when New York federal prosecutors charged him and three others with defrauding donors of more than a million dollars as part of an online fundraising campaign purportedly aimed at supporting Trump's border wall.

The White House in its statement said Bannon has been an important leader in the conservative movement and is known for his political acumen.

Besides Bannon, other pardon recipients included Elliott Broidy, a former top fundraiser for Trump's campaign who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy relating to a secret lobbying campaign to influence the Trump administration on behalf of a foreign billionaire in exchange for millions of dollars, and Ken Kurson, a friend of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner who was charged last October with cyberstalking during a heated divorce.

Trump also granted a full pardon to rapper Lil Wayne who had pleaded guilty to a gun possession charge in Miami.

Another rapper, Kodak Black, received a commutation after he pleaded guilty to a weapons charge.

Brett Berish of Sovereign Brands, who supports a pardon for Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter, described him as "trustworthy, kind-hearted and generous," the White House said.

Also, Paul Erickson, a former conservative operative once romantically linked to Russian agent Maria Butina who was convicted in investment schemes, has been pardoned by President Donald Trump.

Trump pardoned a former Google engineer who was sentenced to prison last year for stealing trade secrets from the tech giant related to robotic vehicles.

Anthony Levandowski left Google in early 2016 where he worked in the autonomous vehicle division to start his own company called Otto.