According to the Associated Press on the 22nd, U.S. President Trump announced amnesty on the same day, including Republican members who had been involved in a Russian investigation for the 2016 election, and U.S. government contractors suspected of participating in the 2007 massacre in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital.
The pardon also included Duncan Hunter, a former Republican Representative of California, and Chris Collins, a Republican from New York.
Collins was the first to support Trump’s election as president in 2016 and was sentenced to two years and two months in federal prison after acknowing that he helped Trump-related personnel avoid $800,000 in stock losses after learning that the small pharmaceutical company failed its trial.
Hunter was previously sentenced to 11 months in prison for stealing campaign funds for traveling with friends and for his daughter’s birthday party.
The pardon also included George Papadopoulos, the 2016 presidential election adviser, who triggered an investigation into the general election because of his private conversations.
According to the Associated Press, by pardoning Papadopoulos, Trump targeted Robert Mueller, a special lawyer who passed the Russian investigation, in an effort to clear the investigation charges against the six related people.
Last month, Trump just pardoned Michael Flynn, a former U.S. national security adviser accused of cheating the FBI twice, and a few months after Trump also pardoned Roger Stone, who was about to serve his sentence.
Also pardoned on the same day included four former U.S. government contractors who were suspected of participating in the killing of civilians in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, killing more than a dozen civilians and sparking international debate about whether private security personnel can be used in the theater.
