US President Donald Trump on Wednesday pardoned 73 people, including his former aide Steve Bannon, the White House said, hours before he was due to leave office.
He did not pardon himself, members of his family or lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Mr Trump leaves office on Thursday morning (AEDT) when Joe Biden is sworn in as the nation’s next president.
Mr Trump also pardoned Elliott Broidy, a former top fundraiser for him who pleaded guilty last year to violating foreign lobbying laws, and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who was serving a 28-year prison term on corruption charges.
Rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black, who were prosecuted on federal weapons offenses, were also granted pardons.
Mr Bannon, who was a key adviser in Mr Trump’s 2016 presidential run, was charged last year with swindling Trump supporters over an effort to raise private funds to build the president’s wall on the US-Mexico border. He has pleaded not guilty.
White House officials had advised Mr Trump against pardoning Mr Bannon.
Mr Giuliani, who has been at the forefront of unsuccessful efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, has not been charged with a crime, but investigators have been probing his activities in Ukraine.
More to come.
