The January 6 order commuted 14 sentences, among them Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, and pardoned everyone else convicted, including Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio. It also told the Justice Department to drop pending cases. AP found that people convicted of assaulting police were among those pardoned. [1][2][4]
Other grants went to political allies and people with business ties. The Justice Department’s pardon register lists Zhao, who had served four months for failing to keep an adequate anti-money-laundering program at Binance, and a commutation for Santos, who had pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft. [3]
Every president pardons friends; Clinton pardoned Marc Rich and Biden pardoned his son. The scale and the political tilt are what is different here. Critics call it rewarding loyalty. Supporters say it corrects prosecutions they view as political.
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