President Trump had one last pardon up his sleeve in the last hour of his presidency—for the ex-husband of one of his favorite Fox News hosts.
On Wednesday, Trump pardoned Albert Pirro Jr., ex-husband of Judge Jeanine Pirro, The Daily Beast confirmed.
Albert Pirro, a real-estate development lawyer and a top Republican fundraiser in New York state, served just over a year in prison after being convicted of conspiracy and tax evasion in 2000. Pirro had represented Trump—himself one of the nation’s most famous real-estate developers before his presidency—in some of his deals.
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“I’m in shock. I went to bed last night having read the list assuming I wasn’t getting a pardon,” Pirro told The Daily Beast. “It certainly is a nice act on the part of the president. It has been 20 years since I served my time and it allows me to engage again in public companies, which I haven’t been able to do previously.”
Pirro said he does not believe his ex-wife played any role in helping to gain his pardon. The Pirros divorced in 2007, finalizing their divorce in 2013. Their relationship was rocky, with Jeanine being accused in 2006 of wiretapping her husband’s boat in hopes of catching him cheating with his defense lawyer’s wife, per the New York Daily News.
“It’s a very nice surprise. I have a long association with the Trump organization as I represented them before my conviction,” Albert Pirro said. “I served my time. I paid my debt. I plan to make a contribution back to society. It has been a humbling experience, and I’m very grateful to Donald Trump.”
Trump has used his pardon power to reward his close allies, among them two of his former campaign managers, Paul Manafort and Steve Bannon. Pirro, however, said he didn’t call in any favors.
“I filed an application and I didn’t have any big shots as character witnesses,” he told the Beast.
