type: timeline_event
President Trump issued pardons to multiple financial criminals in his first week, including a Trump loyalist convicted of wire fraud, a corporation fined $100 million for money laundering violations, and the son of a longtime Republican donor. The pardons extended to Rod Blagojevich who had been convicted of corruption charges for attempting to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat. These pardons established a pattern of using presidential clemency power to protect financial criminals connected to Trump's political network.