Trump to give 'full pardon' to Dinesh D'Souza

President Trump announced Thursday he will pardon conservative filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, who was convicted of making an illegal campaign contribution in 2014.

“Will be giving a Full Pardon to Dinesh D’Souza today. He was treated very unfairly by our government!” the president tweeted Thursday morning.

D’Souza pleaded guilty in 2014 over donating $20,000 to New York politician Wendy Long. He was sentenced to five years of probation and eight months in a halfway house, and paid a $30,000 fine. 

The illegal campaign contribution was made in 2012 to Long’s U.S. Senate campaign. D’Souza pleaded guilty to using a “straw donor” to make the donation.

A straw donor is a person who illegally uses another person’s finances to make a political contribution in their own name. Straw donor schemes are illegal under U.S. law, which states that “no person shall make a contribution in the name of another person or knowingly permit his name to be used to effect such a contribution, and no person shall knowingly accept a contribution made by one person in the name of another person."

D’Souza allegedly coordinated donations to Long’s campaign through friends and acquaintances.

D’Souza has argued that he was unfairly treated by the Obama administration.