Who did Donald Trump pardon? What to know about Charles Kushner, Steve Bannon, other top allies

WASHINGTON − One significant power President-elect Donald Trump will have when he is sworn into office again in January is granting pardons for those who have committed federal crimes.

The presidential authority is back in the spotlight after President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he pardoned his son Hunter Biden, who was convicted of three federal gun felonies and federal tax charges earlier this year.

Biden isn't the first president to pardon a family member – or a top ally in his orbit. For example, former President Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother, Roger Clinton, who had pleaded guilty to drug charges.

During his first term in office, Trump granted 144 pardons. Those included a distant family member and some of his closest allies who committed crimes ranging from financial fraud to witness tampering and more.

Some notable names on that list of Trump allies who received pardons are Charles Kushner, father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner; former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon; former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and others.

When Trump comes back for a second term, some individuals he could be looking to pardon include rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and former Trump White House advisor Peter Navarro, who served a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress.

Here’s a rundown of some key figures that Trump has pardoned and granted clemency to so far:

Charles Kushner

Charles Kushner is the founder of Kushner Companies, a New York based real estate company. He was convicted of preparing false tax returns, retaliating against a cooperating witness, and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission in 2005.

He served more than 16 months of a two-year sentence in federal prison and a halfway program before he was released in 2006, NorthJersey.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported. Trump pardoned Charles Kushner in 2020, saying at the time that Kushner was devoted to philanthropic organizations and causes.

“This record of reform and charity overshadows Mr. Kushner’s conviction and 2 year sentence for preparing false tax returns, witness retaliation, and making false statements” the White House said at the time.

Trump selected Charles Kushner to serve as U.S. ambassador to France last week.

Steve Bannon

Bannon was one of four individuals accused of defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors in a “We Build the Wall” GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign. 

Federal prosecutors at the time alleged that the money that Bannon and others raised were covertly routed to them rather than being used for the wall.

Trump pardoned Bannon in 2021 as he was awaiting a trial for federal fraud charges. However, Bannon still faces state charges for his alleged role in the scheme.

"Prosecutors pursued Mr. Bannon with charges related to fraud stemming from his involvement in a political project,” then-White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement at the time.

Bannon served a 4-month prison sentence earlier this year after being convicted in 2022 for contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.

Paul Manafort

Manafort was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for financial, witness tampering and lobbying crimes. He secured a pardon in the final days of Trump’s first term.

"As a result of blatant prosecutorial overreach, Mr. Manafort has endured years of unfair treatment and is one of the most prominent victims of what has been revealed to be perhaps the greatest witch hunt in American history," the White House said in a statement at the time.

Roger Stone

Roger Stone, a longtime Trump ally, was charged in the wake of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe on Russian interference during the 2016 presidential election.

Stone was found guilty on seven felony counts in 2019 for obstruction of a congressional investigation, making false statements to Congress and tampering with a witness, according to the Department of Justice. He was sentenced to more than three years in prison in 2020. Trump commuted Stone’s prison sentence.

McEnany at the time alleged Stone was "a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump presidency."

Stone's 2020 convictions stemmed from his actions in 2016, when he tried to set up back-channel communications with WikiLeaks to push for the release of emails stolen from the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Michael Flynn

Trump pardoned Flynn, a former national security advisor, after he had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with a Russian ambassador.

He was one of several Trump aides to face charges amid Mueller’s Russia investigation.

Flynn admitted that he lied about his request to then-ambassador Sergey Kislyak that Russia refrain from escalating tensions with the United States in response to sanctions imposed by the Obama administration. 

While awaiting sentencing, Flynn sought to withdraw his guilty plea by claiming he was entrapped by politically motivated federal investigators.

USA TODAY Network archives were used in this story. Contributing: David Jackson and Zac Anderson, USA TODAY