Trump pardons media tycoon, former GOP leader of California State Assembly

President Trump on Wednesday granted a full pardon to media tycoon Conrad Moffat Black and Patrick Nolan, former Republican leader of the California State Assembly.

Black, a Canadian-born British citizen, served as the chief executive of Hollinger International, which published the Chicago Sun-Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Jerusalem Post. He was convicted in 2007 on three counts of mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

The 74-year-old media mogul spent 3 ½ years in prison, the White House said in a statement announcing his pardon.

{mosads}In its statement, the White House said the Supreme Court “largely disagreed and overturned almost all charges in his case.”

Two of his three fraud convictions were later overturned, which resulted in his sentence being shortened. He was released from a Florida prison in May 2012 and subsequently deported from the United States.

“An entrepreneur and scholar, Lord Black has made tremendous contributions to business, as well as to political and historical thought,” the White House said.

Black wrote a book about the president called “Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other,” which was published in 2018.

Nolan, who also was pardoned Wednesday, was a California legislative leader who spent years in prison after being convicted in the 1990s in an FBI sting.

Nolan was secretly recorded accepting checks from an undercover FBI agent and was later charged with using his political office to solicit illegal campaign contributions, the Los Angeles Times reported.

He later pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering and served 25 months in federal prison.

The White House characterized Nolan’s choice to plead guilty as a “difficult” one.

“He could defend himself against charges of public corruption and risk decades in prison, or he could plead guilty and accept a 33-month sentence,” the White House said. “Determined to help his wife raise their three young children, Mr. Nolan chose to accept the plea.”

“Mr. Nolan’s experiences with prosecutors and in prison changed his life. Upon his release, he became a tireless advocate for criminal justice reform and victims’ rights,” the White House added.