Trump bids farewell by pardoning Steve Bannon
When Trump's departure was only a matter of hours away, he carried out something that many had predicted: a massive pardon for his close collaborators. However, no member of the Trump family, nor Trump himself, was part of these pardons, some of them of a preventive nature, such as that of his former advisor, Steve Bannon.
The number of pardons granted on the last day of his term of office is 73, half of the 143 pardons he has granted during his term. Indeed, the vast majority of them, 115, came after losing the elections on 20 November. Although the figure for the last day is noteworthy, we should go back to George W. Bush's presidential term to find similar figures.
Among the figures pardoned on his last day are several rappers, Lil Wayne and Kodak Black, who were convicted of possession of weapons, corruption and extortion respectively. The fundraiser of Donald Trump, Elliott Broidy, and the former mayor of Detroit, Kwane Kilpatrick, are also among those whose sentences have been commuted by the outgoing president.
Among the most prominent names are obviously some of those who have been his closest collaborators. Already in his final weeks at the helm of the White House, after being defeated by Joe Biden, Trump pardoned Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, George Papadopoulos and Alex Van Der Zwaan, all of whom were convicted of Russian interference during the 2016 elections.
Now, in addition to all of them, Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's former advisor and director of his successful election campaign, has been granted a pre-emptive pardon. Bannon, one of the most important figures in this wave of populism that affects not only the United States but also other countries such as Europe, and where Bannon has gained important support, has not yet been convicted, but is accused of conspiracy to commit fraud in relation to the wall that Trump wanted to build with Mexico.
Steve Bannon, despite the power he was able to wield in the shadow of the US president, quickly fell into disgrace when he criticised Trump's family background. From then on, the two figures of the most conspiratorial populism remained apart. However, Trump's delicate situation and his intention to cloud the transfer of power with Joe Biden brought them closer together again, something that has been materialised by this preventive pardon, pending the trial of Bannon, who faces a possible sentence of up to 20 years' imprisonment.
