According to the Associated Press reported on the 22nd local time, US President Trump announced an amnesty for 15 people on the same day, including Republican members who were previously caught up in the Investigation of Russia for the 2016 election, as well as US government contractors suspected of participating in the 2007 Massacre in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital.
The pardons also included former California Republican representative Duncan Hunter and New York State Republican Chris Collins.
Collins was the first to express support for Trump's election in 2016 and admitted to serving 2 years and 2 months in federal prison after learning of a failed trial at a small pharmaceutical company that helped Trump-related personnel avoid $800,000 in stock losses. Hunter was previously sentenced to 11 months in prison for stealing campaign funds for outings with friends and his daughter's birthday party.
The pardon also includes George Papadopoulos, a 2016 Trump presidential campaign adviser, whose private conversations sparked a Russia-gate investigation into the election. The Associated Press reported that by pardoning Papadopoulos, Trump targeted Robert Mueller, a special counsel who investigated Russia, in an effort to eliminate the allegations against the six people involved.
Last month, Mr. Trump pardoned Michael Flynn, a former U.S. national security adviser accused of cheating the F.B.I. twice, and a few months ago, mr. Trump similarly pardoned Roger Stone, who was about to go to jail.
The same pardons on the same day included four former U.S. government contractors, four on suspicion of involvement in the killing of civilians in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, killing more than a dozen civilians and sparking an international dispute over whether private security personnel could be used in war zones. (CCTV reporter Liu Xu)
(Edited by Kim Joo Sung)