INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Dinesh D'Souza had been convicted of campaign-finance violations or lying to investigatorsWashington: President
Donald Trump granted a full pardon Thursday to conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza and said he was strongly considering clemency for
other celebrity felons, signaling his willingness to exercise his unilateral power to reward friends and allies while undercutting the work
of his nemeses in law enforcement.Trump said he was weighing commuting the prison sentence of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, D,
as well as granting a pardon to Martha Stewart, the television personality and lifestyle mogul, arguing that they and D'Souza had been
unfairly treated by the justice system.With Thursday's announcements, Trump also delivered an indirect but unmistakable message to personal
attorney Michael Cohen, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and others ensnared in Trump-related investigations that they, too,
could be spared punishment in the future.D'Souza, Blagojevich and Stewart had been convicted of such crimes as campaign-finance violations
or lying to investigators - charges similar to those brought against Flynn, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and other Trump
associates indicted in special counsel Robert Mueller III's Russia investigation
Cohen, meanwhile, is under investigation by federal prosecutors in New York for possible campaign-finance violations and other possible
crimes.Another pattern in Trump's granted or potential pardons is their connection to the president's perceived enemies
Former FBI director James Comey, whom Trump fired last year, prosecuted Stewart in her insider-trading case, while Comey's close friend,
attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, prosecuted Blagojevich
attorney Preet Bharara - who, like Comey, was fired by Trump and has since been an outspoken critic - prosecuted D'Souza.Roger Stone, a
longtime Trump associate and his former political strategist, who has come under scrutiny by Mueller's team, said the president sent a clear
message."It has to be a signal to Mike Flynn and Paul Manafort and even Robert Mueller III: Indict people for crimes that don't pertain to
Russian collusion and this is what could happen," Stone said
"The special counsel has awesome powers, as you know, but the president has even more awesome powers."Trump's pardon of D'Souza was his
sixth act of clemency as president
Each was issued unilaterally, subverting the traditional Justice Department process of reviewing thousands of pardon requests.D'Souza is an
author, filmmaker and provocateur who became a cult figure on the right in part because of his conspiratorial polemics about Barack Obama
He pleaded guilty in 2014 to illegally using straw donors to contribute to a New York Republican candidate for U.S
Senate, telling a judge that he knows what he did was "wrong" and "I deeply regret my conduct."Prosecutors said D'Souza had other
individuals donate money to Republican Wendy Long, a Republican who was challenging Sen
Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., in 2012, under the agreement that he would reimburse them for the donations.D'Souza was sentenced to five years
of probation, including eight months living under supervision in a "community confinement center" in San Diego, and a $30,000 fine.Trump,
who announced his plans for the pardon Thursday morning on Twitter, later told reporters traveling with him on Air Force One that he had
long felt D'Souza's sentence was too harsh."I've always felt he was very unfairly treated," Trump said
"And a lot of people did, a lot of people did
What should have been a quick, minor fine, like everybody else with the election stuff
What they did to him was horrible.D'Souza tweeted that he was grateful to Trump for his pardon and said of his prosecution, "Bharara his
goons bludgeoned me into the plea."Earlier this spring, Sen
Ted Cruz, R-Texas, brought up D'Souza's situation to Trump and personally lobbied him to consider a pardon, according to White House
The senator, who accompanied Trump to a political fundraiser Thursday in Houston, cheered the decision."Bravo!" Cruz wrote in a tweet in
which he claimed that D'Souza "was the subject of a political prosecution." D'Souza, he added, is "a powerful voice for freedom,
systematically dismantling the lies of the Left - which is why they hate him
This is Justice."Trump, however, told reporters that "nobody asked me to do it" and claimed that he had never met D'Souza, although he said
he has seen him on television."I called him last night, first time I've ever spoken to him," Trump said
"I said, 'I'm pardoning you.' " He added that D'Souza "almost had a heart attack" during their three-minute phone call. Donald Trump said
he was also weighing commuting the prison sentence of former Illinois governor Rod BlagojevichBut Sam Nunberg, Trump's former political
aide, recalled that D'Souza visited Trump at Trump Tower in New York in 2012, shortly before releasing his film, "2016: Obama's America,"
which was based on his earlier book, "The Roots of Obama's Rage.Nunberg said that Trump agreed to help D'Souza promote the film
Trump sent three tweets about D'Souza's movie that August, including one calling it an "amazing film."A White House spokesman said he could
not immediately square the conflicting accounts of whether Trump had previously met D'Souza.Trump's clemency for D'Souza was sharply
criticized by New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood, D, who said it "makes crystal clear his willingness to use his pardon power to
thwart the cause of justice, rather than advance it."Trump also signaled Thursday that he is considering commuting the remainder of the
sentence of Blagojevich, who was convicted in 2010 on charges relating to the attempted sale of Obama's former U.S
Senate seat."What he did does not justify 18 years in a jail," Trump told reporters traveling on Air Force One
"If you read his statement, it was a foolish statement, there was a lot of bravado
plenty of other politicians have said a lot worse
he shouldn't have been put in jail."Trump overstated the duration of Blagojevich's prison sentence, which is 14 years.Trump also cited the
case of Stewart, who was convicted in 2004 of obstructing justice and lying to investigators about a well-timed stock sale."I think to a
certain extent Martha Stewart was harshly and unfairly treated," Trump said
"And she used to be my biggest fan in the world
before I became a politician
I don't view it that way."A senior White House official said that as many as a dozen other pardons are under consideration by Trump, adding
that most are likely to happen
"There are going to be more," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to comment candidly on the issue.Traditionally,
people seeking pardons apply through the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney, which reviews thousands of cases and advances
some to the White House for the president's consideration.But Trump has used his clemency powers in a more haphazard way, spurred by
personal connections or political calculations
Most of the pardons are impulsive, according to a person familiar with the process, and are driven by his "seeing something on TV, reading
something in a newspaper, hearing from a friend or someone lobbying him personally." The president then usually asks White House lawyers to
review the cases and prepare actions.Consider how Trump decided last August to issue his first pardon, to former Arizona county sheriff Joe
Arpaio, a campaign supporter and anti-immigration hard-liner."With Sheriff Joe, there was no process, no examination of exactly what did he
do, what did he deserve" said the person familiar with the process
"Someone said this is a miscarriage of justice on Fox News
That was it."The only real exception, this person said, was Sholom Rubashkin, an Orthodox Jewish meat executive, whose prison sentence Trump
While Rubashkin's case did not come through the pardon office and was not vetted by the pardon attorney, it came with analysis from lawyers
inside and outside the administration, this person said, and was closely considered for at least three months.Margaret Love, a former U.S
pardon attorney, said it is disturbing that Trump mostly issues pardons for personal or political reasons."There are thousands of cases
pending, ordinary cases from ordinary Americans, who are being told if they want this relief they can apply through the Justice Department
and be fairly considered," Love said
"But in reality, you have to be able to figure out how to get cases to him and interest him personally in them."Actor Sylvester Stallone
personally lobbied Trump to grant a posthumous pardon to heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson, which the president did in May
And reality television star Kim Kardashian visited Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday to ask for a pardon of Alice Marie Johnson, who is
serving a life sentence for a drug-trafficking conviction.Asked why Trump has largely pardoned celebrities, White House deputy press
secretary Hogan Gidley told reporters that "there are plenty of people the president is looking at right now under the pardon process."
Gidley added, "That's a power outlined by the Constitution, one in which he understands the gravity."Stewart and Blagojevich have ties to
"The Apprentice," Trump's long-running reality television series on NBC
Stewart was the host of a short-lived spinoff, "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart," in 2005
And Blagojevich was a contestant on "Celebrity Apprentice" in 2010, after he was indicted but before his convictions
Trump praised Blagojevich at the time as having "a lot of guts" to appear on the program.Trump also has donated to Blagojevich's
