Family of Trump Pardon Recipient Gave Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars to Trump Campaign

Family of Trump Pardon Recipient Gave Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars to Trump Campaign

The family of a recipient of a pardon issued by President Donald Trump donated over $200,000 to the Trump reelection campaign.

The son and daughter-in-law of Paul Pogue, a construction company owner who received three years probation for underpaying his taxes by nearly a half million dollars, donated the money to Trump Victory Committee through direct contributions and in-kind air travel, according to FEC filings obtained by The Daily Beast.

From the story:

In August [2019] alone, Ben Pogue donated $85,000 to Trump Victory while Ashleigh Pogue contributed $50,000 that month. The following month, Ben Pogue made an in-kind air travel contribution of $75,404.40. The couple also made several large donations to the Republican National Committee and each donated $5,600 to Donald Trump for President Inc.

Trump on Tuesday granted clemency to 11 individuals, including former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik, and Michael Milken, the “junk-bonds king.” Advocates for each have appeared on Fox News, and the president admitted Tuesday that his decision regarding Blagojevich was influenced by the former governor’s ex-wife appearing on the network.

Kerik, similarly, argued his case on Tucker Carlson Tonight on Monday. The former police commissioner, who once pushed for the arrest of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), was sentenced to four years imprisonment in 2010 for tax fraud and lying to federal agents. Kerik also worked under former New York City Mayor and current Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

William Vaillancourt

William Vaillancourt is a writer and editor from New Hampshire whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Progressive, Slate and Areo Magazine, among other places. He holds a BA in Political Science and History from Boston University.

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