BY Chinedu Asadu
US President Donald Trump has granted clemency to 143 persons in the final hours of his administration.
In a final act of presidential power on Tuesday, he granted 73 pardons and 70 commutations to his allies and known celebrities but not for himself.
He also did not pardon any member of his family nor his aides, contrary to recent speculations fuelled by the election crisis that led to his second impeachment.
Among those he pardoned were Stephen K. Bannon, a former White House strategist, and Lil Wayne, popular rapper who once pleaded guilty to a gun possession charge.
Bannon had pleaded not guilty to charges that he defrauded donors to “We Build the Wall,” an online fundraising campaign that was said to have raised $25 million.
Although it is a long-standing tradition for presidents to exercise clemency powers at the last minute, no president has ever attempted to pardon himself.
Legal experts have argued that Trump “could potentially be exposed to federal charges” following his alleged obstruction of the investigation of Robert Mueller, former special counsel.
In his investigative report on alleged ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, Mueller had noted that the outgoing president was not exonerated in the allegations.
The 45th president was also said to have violated federal law by pressuring an election official in Georgia to “find” votes in a recorded phone conversation.
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