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US President Donald Trump has granted pardons to two people linked to an investigation into alleged collusion between his campaign and Russia, along with a list of others as time passes in his remaining weeks in office.
The moves generated even more controversy and came as the outgoing Republican continues to refuse to concede defeat to Democrat Joe Biden in the November election.
They join the pardons already granted to Trump’s political allies, who will leave office on January 20.
The White House said in a statement that Trump had granted full pardons to 15 people and commuted all or part of the sentences to five others.
A full pardon was granted to George Papadopoulos, a former Trump campaign adviser who admitted to lying to federal investigators about his contacts with the Russians.
Papadopoulos was a member of Trump’s foreign policy advisory panel when he ran for president in 2016.
He pleaded guilty in October 2017 to lying to the FBI about contacts with a professor who promised to connect him with senior Russian officials.
He collaborated with investigators led by Robert Mueller, the special counsel who conducted a two-year investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Papadopoulos spent 12 days in jail after his guilty plea.
“Today’s forgiveness helps correct the evil that Mueller’s team inflicted on so many people,” the White House statement said.
Another full pardon was granted to Alex van der Zwaan, a Dutch lawyer who was also convicted in connection with the Mueller investigation.
Full pardons were also granted to four Blackwater security guards convicted of killing Iraqis in 2007.
The four Blackwater security company guards convicted of the 2007 shootings included Nicholas Slatten, who had been sentenced to life in prison.
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They were convicted of opening fire in Baghdad’s crowded Nisur Square on September 16, 2007 in a bloody episode that sparked an international scandal and increased resentment towards the US presence.
The shooting left at least 14 Iraqi civilians dead and 17 injured while perpetuating the image of crazed American security contractors.
Blackwater guards said they acted in self-defense in response to the insurgent fire.
The White House statement said the four men, former members of the military, “have a long history of service to the nation.”
Others included on the list were three former Republican members of Congress.
The announcement prompted swift condemnation from several Trump critics, including Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff, head of the House of Representatives intelligence committee.
“If you lie to cover up the president, you get a pardon. If you are a corrupt politician who supported Trump, you get a pardon. If you murder civilians during the war, you get a pardon,” Schiff said in a statement. statement.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was particularly scathing in forgiving Blackwater security contractors behind the shooting in Iraq.
“President Trump has reached a new shameful low with the Blackwater pardons,” said Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU’s Homeland Security Project.
“These military contractors were convicted for their role in the death of 17 Iraqi civilians and their actions caused devastation in Iraq, shame and horror in the United States and a global scandal. President Trump insults the memory of Iraqi victims and further degrades your charge with this action. “
Outgoing Republican Congressman Will Hurd also criticized the move on Twitter, saying “pardoning privileged people from elected office and power for committing crimes they knew they were committing and have pleaded guilty to is not conservative at all.”
“I know nothing he does is surprising, but what an obscene, partisan and rude abuse of power,” Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen said on Twitter.
“This is the swamp at its dirtiest. January 20 cannot come soon enough,” he said.
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