President Donald Trump on Tuesday pardoned former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, along with over a dozen other people, including multiple ex-GOP congressmen.
The White House in a statement said that Trump was granting full pardons to 15 people and commuted part or all of the sentences of an additional 5 individuals. Among those granted clemency included former Republican Reps. Duncan Hunter of California and Chris Collins of New York and four ex-Blackwater contractors convicted of killing Iraqi civilians.
Hunter was sentenced to 11 months in prison this past March for misusing campaign funds. Hunter pleaded guilty in Dec. 2019 to a corruption charge after prosecutors said he and his wife “converted and stole” more than a quarter-million dollars in campaign funds for their own use over a period of several years.
Collins, who was the first sitting member of Congress to endorse Trump for president, pleaded guilty in Oct. 2019 to charges related to insider trading. He sentenced in January to 26 months in federal prison.
Papadopoulos is best known for playing a key role in the years-long investigation into Russian election interference. A foreign policy adviser on Trump’s 2016 campaign, Papadopoulos told an Australian diplomat while they were having drinks at a London wine bar that he’d heard Russia had thousands of emails that would embarrass Trump’s rival, Hillary Clinton.
He was sentenced to 14 days in federal lockup and one year of supervised release in September of 2018 for lying to investigators. After his release from jail, he wrote a book called, “Deep State Target: How I Got Caught in the Crosshairs of the Plot to Bring Down President Trump” and ran a failed campaign for Congress.
Trump has also discussed pardoning members of his family and other associates, including Rudy Giuliani, multiple sources familiar with the matter told NBC News earlier this month. None of those names were included on Tuesday’s roster.
