President Donald Trump has granted a full pardon to Conrad Black, a former newspaper publisher who has written a flattering political biography of Trump.
Black's media empire once included the Chicago Sun-Times and The Daily Telegraph of London. He was convicted of fraud in 2007 and spent three and a half years in prison. An appeals court reversed two convictions, but left two others in place.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Black "has made tremendous contributions to business, and to political and historical thought."
He called it a long ordeal that was "never anything but a confluence of unlucky events, the belligerence of several corporate governance charlatans, and grandstanding local and American judges, all fanned by an unusually frenzied international media showing exceptional interest in the case because I was a media owner."
In 2015, Black wrote a National Review essay titled "Trump Is the Good Guy." Trump tweeted it was an "honor" to read the piece, adding, "As one of the truly great intellects & my friend, I won't forget!"
She said Black's case attracted broad support from many high-profile individuals including former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Elton John and Rush Limbaugh who have "vigorously vouched for his exceptional character."
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