Trump pardons Conrad Black, ex-business partner and Trump hagiographer, claims Elton John's backing

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

published 16 May 2019

President Trump pardoned Conrad Black, a 74-year-old Canadian-born British former media baron who is a longtime friend and onetime business partner, on Wednesday. In a statement, the White House suggested Black's 2007 conviction for fraud and obstruction of justice, tied to an alleged scheme to swindle millions from investors, was overly harsh. Black spent more than three years in prison, getting out in 2012, and was then deported to Canada and barred from entering the U.S. for 30 years.

The White House, justifying the pardon, cited "broad support from many high-profile individuals who have vigorously vouched for his exceptional character," naming Henry Kissinger, Rush Limbaugh, the late William F. Buckley Jr., and Elton John. The statement also noted that Black is "the author of several notable biographies," but didn't mention the glowing book Black published about Trump last year.

In the book, Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other, Black wrote that Trump is "a good deal more ethical and honest than many other businessmen and corporate directors I have known." When the book came out, Black denied speculation that he was angling for a pardon. In 2015, Trump tweeted his thanks to Black for a previous bit of praise in print: "As one of the truly great intellects & my friend, I won't forget!!"

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Black once controlled Hollinger International, a media empire that owned the Chicago Sun-Times, Canada's National Post, Britain's Daily Telegraph, The Jerusalem Post, and other newspapers. Trump predicted that Black would bounce back from his legal woes in 2004. "In 1990 or 1991, when I owed billions of dollars, some people shied away from me," Trump told Vanity Fair. "And now everyone is kissing my a-- and begging me to sit at their right-hand side at the table. Conrad is a tremendously strong man who will overcome these obstacles in the end. He will prevail." And he did, with a little help from his friends.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.