Trump issues pardons and clemency for phone calls, tax fraud, and corruption

President Donald Trump issued nearly a dozen pardons and commutations on Tuesday, many for crimes of which he stands accused. One recipient of clemency, former Illinois governor and 'Celebrity Apprentice' contestant Rod Blagojevich, had been sentenced to 14 years in prison for trying to solicit bribes in exchange for President Obama's former Senate seat. Former NYC police commissioner and Giuliani associate Bernard Kerik received a pardon after serving a 4-year sentence in prison for 8 felonies, including tax fraud. Former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. was pardoned of a decades-old corruption charge.Feb. 19, 2020