Throughout former president Donald Trump’s first three years in office, he sparingly used the presidential pardon. However, near the end of 2020, Trump began to utilize this power more actively. He pardoned around 18 people by the end of 2020, and, by mid-January 2021, had already pardoned one person. However, these numbers pale in comparison to the near-150 people Trump pardoned or otherwise commuted a few hours before the inauguration of President Biden. These numerous pardons have several notable stand-outs, some for their celebrity status, and others for their close relations to Trump.

    In former President Donald Trump’s final hours in office, he pardoned nearly 75 people, and commuted the sentences of around 70 others. Amongst these people, a few stand out, whether for their connections to Trump on a personal level, or for their celebrity status.

   Amongst the pardoned with connections to former president Donald Trump, one of the most notable is Stephen K. Bannon. Bannon was Trump’s chief strategist in the White House, and was in charge of the final months of his 2016 presidential campaign. This abruptly ended in August, during which he was indicted alongside three others for wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges. He has received a full pardon, and will not face a trial. 

   Another who had very public connections to Trump prior to their imprisonment was Elliot Broidy. A former Republican National Committee finance chair, he was one of Trump’s top fundraisers. He pleaded guilty in Oct. 2020 to conspiring to violate foreign lobbying laws. He received a full pardon as well.

   Famous rapper Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., better known as Lil Wayne, was also pardoned. He was barred from the possession of firearms due to past felony convictions, yet was discovered with one on his private jet. Lil Wayne is a well-known Trump supporter, and had met with the former president on criminal justice issues. Had he not been pardoned, he could have received up to 10 years in prison.

  Kenneth Kurson, a friend to Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, was pardoned. He had been charged with cyberstalking last October after a difficult divorce.

  Those are the ones with the most notable and obvious connections to Trump. Some of the other well-known pardons would be Bill K. Kapri, better known as Kodak Black, who was convicted after falsifying information to purchase firearms, and former U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi, who was sentenced for extortion, bribery, insurance fraud, money laundering and racketeering. 

  Amongst these numerous pardons and commutations, one very famous person is missing: Joe Exotic, the Tiger King. Despite many rumors swirling about a potential pardon coming his way, and Exotic even going as far as to hire a limousine driver to come get him from prison, he never ended up being pardoned. 

   In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Exotic said that he was “too innocent and too GAY to deserve a pardon from Trump.”

  More notably, Joe Exotic notes that “I only mattered to Don Jr. when he needed to make a comment about me to boost his social media post. Boy were we stupid to believe he actually stood for Equal Justice? His corrupt friends all come first,” referring to a clip where Trump is asked about pardoning the famous Tiger King, to which he responds that he would “look into it”.

  These numerous pardons and commutations mark the end to Donald Trump’s first, and so far only, term in the Oval Office, and the beginning of Joe Biden’s presidency.