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- President Donald Trump signed a full pardon for the former media mogul Conrad Black, who was convicted in 2007 of fraud and obstruction of justice.
- Black was found guilty of scheming to siphon off millions of dollars from the sale of newspapers. He spent roughly 42 months in prison.
- "Lord Black’s case has attracted broad support from many high-profile individuals who have vigorously vouched for his exceptional character," the White House said in a statement.
- Black, 74, is Canadian-born British citizen and ran an international newspaper empire that included the Chicago Sun-Times, Britain’s Daily Telegraph and the Jerusalem Post. He is an outspoken Trump supporter who published a book on Trump’s political rise.
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President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a full pardon to the former media mogul Conrad Black, who was convicted in 2007 of fraud and obstruction of justice.
Black, 74, a Canadian-born British citizen, once ran an international newspaper empire that included the Chicago Sun-Times, Britain’s Daily Telegraph, and the Jerusalem Post.
"Lord Black’s case has attracted broad support from many high-profile individuals who have vigorously vouched for his exceptional character," the White House said in a statement announcing the pardon.
"In light of these facts, Mr. Black is entirely deserving of this Grant of Executive Clemency," the White House added.
Read more: Trump pardons former Army Ranger convicted of fatally shooting an Iraqi prisoner
Black was found guilty in the US of scheming to siphon off millions of dollars from the sale of newspapers owned by Hollinger Incorporated, where he was chief executive and chairman. He spent roughly 42 months in prison.
Two of his three fraud convictions were later voided, and his sentence was shortened. He was released from a Florida prison in May 2012 and deported from the US.
Black is an outspoken Trump supporter who published a book dedicated to his journey to the White House.
"I think he’s done quite well," Black said of Trump in 2018, according to The Guardian.
Black previously downplayed the suggestion that he gave his appraisal in hopes to receive a potential pardon.
"This irritating mindreading by people who don’t know me, this imputation of motives, I think, is discreditable," Black said in 2018. "There is, at this point, no thought of a pardon whatsoever."
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- Kamala Harris says Trump was right on NAFTA and that she wouldn’t have voted for the trade deal
SEE ALSO: Trump pardons former Army Ranger convicted of fatally shooting an Iraqi prisoner
Source: Business Insider – dchoi@businessinsider.com (David Choi)