[Washington Examiner] President Trump issued pardons to his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and to his longtime friend Roger Stone just before Christmas Eve, with the 26 new pardons and three additional commutations on Wednesday also including a full pardon to son-in-law Jared Kushner’s father.Both Manafort and Stone had been swept up in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, and both were found guilty of crimes not directly connected to allegations of Russian collusion against them. Trump had pardoned 15 other individuals, including former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, on Tuesday.
The Wednesday pardons came after Attorney General William Barr’s final day as attorney general, and Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen will be taking over in an acting capacity
"Today, President Trump has issued a full and complete pardon to Paul Manafort, stemming from convictions prosecuted in the course of Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation, which was premised on the Russian collusion hoax," the White House said. "Mr. Manafort has already spent two years in prison, including a stretch of time in solitary confinement — treatment worse than what many of the most violent criminals receive. 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."