Outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump has granted pardons to 73 individuals, including former White House adviser Steve Bannon, and commuted the sentences of an additional 70 individuals, according to a list released by the White House on Wednesday.

"President Donald J. Trump granted pardons to 73 individuals and commuted the sentences of an additional 70 individuals," the White House said in a statement. The pardon was granted just hours before his departure.

Bannon, 67, helped Trump on the campaign trail during the 2016 presidential elections and was a senior White House adviser. He was charged in August 2020 with defrauding donors of more than one million dollars as part of a fundraising campaign purportedly aimed at supporting Trump's border wall.

The statement describes Bannon as "an important leader in the conservative movement and is known for his political acumen."

The president made his last-minute decision after speaking to Bannon by phone, said media reports. 

Others on the list

Former Trump fund-raiser Elliott Broidy was also pardoned after he pleaded guilty last year for conspiring to violate foreign lobbying laws. Rapper Lil Wayne who last month pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon and faced 10 years in jail, also made it to the list.

Trump also gave a full pardon to former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski who was sentenced for stealing a trade secret on self-driving cars months before he briefly headed Uber Technologies Inc.'s rival unit.

The White House said Levandowski had "paid a significant price for his actions and plans to devote his talents to advance the public good."

The pardon was backed by several leaders in the technology industry who have supported Trump, including investors Peter Thiel and Blake Masters and entrepreneur Palmer Luckey, according to the White House.

Levandowski, 40, was sentenced in August to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in March. He transferred more than 14,000 Google files, including development schedules and product designs, to his personal laptop before he left, and while negotiating a new role with Uber.

Trump's pardons have also included some people tied to celebrities, including Alice Marie Johnson, a woman convicted on drug charges whose case was championed by reality television star Kim Kardashian West.

Despite speculation, the list did not include the subject of the Netflix series "Tiger King," Joe Exotic, who is serving a 22-year prison sentence for plotting to kill a rival and animal cruelty.

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Most presidents have issued pardons late in their terms. Usually processed through the Office of the Pardon Attorney, they are intended to address cases in which the punishment is outsized compared to the crime.

Trump delivered his first pardon in August 2017, his first year in office, had issued 70 in total before Wednesday, many of which have been given to people who are friendly with his administration.

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, who beat Trump in an election last year, was due to be sworn in as his successor later Wednesday. Before that, Trump will fly to his home in Florida, skipping the inauguration ceremony.

(With input from Reuters, AFP)

(Cover: U.S. President Donald Trump (L) congratulates Senior Counselor to the President Stephen Bannon during the swearing-in of senior staff in the East Room of the White House, Washington, DC, U.S., January 22, 2017. /AFP)