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Trump Pardon Blew Up DOJ Probe Into Predatory Lending: NYT

Jonathan Braun, a New Yorker who at the time was serving a 10-year sentence for his role in running a giant marijuana sales ring, was pardoned on Trump’s final day in office.

A pardon issued by Donald Trump during his last day in office completely blew up an ongoing Justice Department investigation into predatory lenders, according to an investigation published by The New York Times Sunday. The case of Jonathan Braun, a Staten Island resident who at the time was serving a 10-year sentence for his role in running a giant marijuana sales ring, reached Trump’s desk after his family leaned on a connection to Jared Kushner’s father, Charles, the newspaper reported. But at the time Braun was also part of a larger investigation into predatory lending, and eyeing a cooperation deal with authorities that would have seen him released from prison in exchange for providing information on other industry insiders. The investigation subsequently sputtered following Trump’s pardon, the Times reported.