The office of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance has reviewed all 143 of the pardons and commutations issued by former President Donald Trump in his final hours in office, and it's weighing whether to bring charges against former Trump strategist Stephen Bannon and Ken Kurson, a friend of Jared Kushner, Trump's son in law, The New York Times and The Washington Post report. Presidential clemency covers only federal crimes, and both men were pardoned before their cases went to trial, meaning they almost certainly wouldn't be protected by New York State's double-jeopardy law.
Bannon and three associates not pardoned by Trump were charged in August with defrauding investors in an enterprise called Build the Wall; Bannon was accused of personally receiving more than $1 million of the $25 million raised to build border wall on private land. All four men pleaded not guilty. Vance's prosecutors "have taken significant steps in their investigation" of Bannon, the Times reports, "including seeking records and requesting to interview at least one potential witness." Vance would have jurisdiction because some of Bannon's alleged victims live in Manhattan.
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