In The Final Hours Of His Presidency, Trump Pardons His Former Strategist Steve Bannon

US President Donald Trump issued clemency to former White House aide and influential electoral strategist Steve Bannon as part of a wave of pardons and commutations issued in his final hours in office, CNN reported.

The raft of 73 pardons and 70 commutations issued by the president hours before he will be demitting office is consistent with a long-standing presidential tradition of exercising clemency powers at the last minute.

Bannon, formerly the head honcho of Breitbart News, is widely credited as the architect of Trump’s 2016 campaign and served chief White House strategist until August 2017.

Bannon was arrested in August last year by federal prosecutors in Manhattan over charges related to the money raised as part of "We Build the Wall" online fundraising campaign.

While Bannon is not yet convicted, the pardon will effectively wipe away the charges against him, in case he is convicted.

Trump also pardoned Republican high-dollar fundraiser Elliott Broidy. Broidy had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act as part of a scheme to pressure the Trump administration into dropping or reducing its criminal probe into a fugitive Malaysian businessman.

Trump also pardoned former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who was serving a 28-year prison term on corruption charges.

Notably missing from the list were WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange whose supporters had pushed for pardons.

Trump also did not issue pre-emptive pardons for any members of him family, his attorney Rudy Giuliani, or himself.