OUT OF CONTROL

Report: Trump’s New ‘Obsession’ With Pardons Irks Advisers

The president is said to have begun asking friends who should be pardoned next.

Presidential pardons have become President Trump’s new “favorite thing” in the White House, and he has begun asking friends for recommendations on who should get the next reprieve, The Washington Post reports. After Trump unexpectedly announced a pardon for conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza last week, he said he was considering similar moves for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and TV personality Martha Stewart. A White House official quoted by the Post said the president is now “obsessed” with pardons and is expected to issue them for a dozen or more people over the next few months, starting with 63-year-old Alice Marie Johnson. Kim Kardashian visited the White House last week to request a pardon for Johnson, who is serving a life sentence for a nonviolent crime. Paperwork concerning a pardon in Johnson’s case was reportedly finalized on Tuesday morning. The president’s obsession with exercising his almost unchecked power to issue pardons—often at the behest of celebrities—has reportedly frustrated White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and White House counsel Don McGahn, who are said to have opposed any reprieve for Johnson.