WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has pardoned a former media baron and onetime business partner convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice charges. In granting a pardon Wednesday to Lord Conrad Black, Trump cited “broad support from many high-profile individuals who have vigorously vouched for his exceptional character,” the White House said in a statement.
Black, 74, who controlled the newspaper chain Hollinger International, was convicted in 2007 and sentenced to 6½ years in prison. He served more than two years of his term but was freed on bail after the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the reach of a federal law that gave prosecutors the authority to bring cases against executives who deprive companies of their “honest services.” The justices then ordered the lower courts to take another look at the conviction of Black, a Canadian who took British citizenship.
In 2011, a federal judge ordered Black to return to prison for about a year on top of the 29 months he already has served on charges of fraud and obstruction of justice. He was released in 2012.
Black has also written books and columns expressing his conservative views. Last year, he wrote the book, “Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other.” In it, he describes Mr. Trump as “a good deal more ethical and honest than many other businessmen and corporate directors I have known.”
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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