Washington: US President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to issue around 100 pardons and commutations on his final day at the White House on Tuesday, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Trump had put a pause on the list of pardons in the days leading up to and directly after riots at the US Capitol two weeks ago, according to officials. White House officials had expected them to resume after January 6, but Trump retreated after he was blamed for encouraging a mob of his supporters to incite the riots at the Capitol.
According to CNN, two major batches had initially been ready to roll out, one at the end of last week and one on Tuesday. Now, officials expect the last batch to be the only one unless Trump decides at the last minute to grant pardons to controversial allies, members of his family or himself.
Following the violence on the Capitol, several of Trump's advisers had encouraged him to forgo a self-pardon because it would appear like he was guilty of something, according to one person familiar with the conversations. He was also advised not to grant clemency to any of the rioters who swarmed the Capitol.
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The final batch of clemency actions is expected to include criminal justice reform-minded pardons and more controversial ones secured or doled out to political allies.
The expectation among allies is that Trump will issue pardons that he could benefit from post-presidency.
"Everything is a transaction. He likes pardons because it is unilateral. And he likes doing favours for people he thinks will owe him," one source familiar with the matter said.