US EditionTrump pardoned man 1 month after mother attended $1M per person fundraiser: Report
- In December 2024, Paul Walczak, a former nursing home executive, received a complete pardon from Donald Trump just under three weeks after Walczak’s mother participated in a $1 million-per-person fundraiser held at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
- Walczak pleaded guilty to two tax crimes involving withholding over $10 million from employees' paychecks between 2016 and 2019, and critics raised concerns that the pardon followed political fundraising and favoritism connected to his mother's support for Trump.
- The pardon prevented Walczak from serving an 18-month prison term and paying nearly $4.4 million in restitution, which had been ordered just 12 days earlier; he marked the occasion by publicly donning a red hat styled after Trump’s signature caps, emblazoned with the slogan "Make Paul Great Again."
- Walczak’s pardon request contended that the legal case against him was influenced by political factors, citing his mother Theresa Fago’s extensive involvement in supporting Trump’s campaigns and her participation in multiple fundraising events, including one that offered direct access to Trump at Mar‑a‑Lago.
- This case exemplifies Trump’s pattern of exercising clemency powers to reward allies advancing his political causes while raising broader questions about the influence of high-dollar fundraising on presidential pardons.
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Big, beautiful breakup: The rift we’ve been waiting for since January is finally here. Sieg heil!-giving hatchet man Elon Musk criticized convicted felon and President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” Musk said he is “disappointed” with the “massive spending bill” that he said undermines the work of his DOGE team. The bill also includes tax cuts and increases the federal deficit. No points because we’re all still losing here. 0 [AP, Guardia…
·Washington, United States
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