Trump's final pardons included controversial allies, but not himself or his family

On his last full day in office, President Donald Trump issued 74 pardons and 70 commutations Tuesday, including some to political allies, but none to himself or members of his family.

His choices remained controversial: Trump pardoned his former top strategist Stephen Bannon, fundraiser Elliot Broidy and other high-profile politicians.

It was the second round of acts following the Electoral College vote in favor of Biden, after which Trump issued a flurry of pardons and commutations.

It's not unusual for presidents to issue many acts of clemency in their final days. President Barack Obama reduced the sentences of hundreds of drug offenders during his presidency – including dozens among the 273 clemencies he issued three days before Trump took office.

Trump granted a total of 237 acts of clemency during his presidency, leaving him well behind all but one president of the past 120 years: George H.W. Bush issued 77 in his one term.

It's not uncommon for pardons to rankle members of the opposing party. Some Republicans took issue with Obama's effort to reduce mandatory-minimum sentences of offenders stemming from the war on drugs and President Bill Clinton's pardon of indicted commodities trader Marc Rich.

Many of Trump’s recent pardons before were for his close connections or allies who supported his presidency. Others reflect Trump’s view of himself as a political outsider.

Also, several of these people and their offenses can be viewed through multiple lenses, which left us to parse the Trump's list in the way that best describes the person or offense.

Here's a look at the handful of groups encompassed in Trump's pardons. Again, ome of those pardoned could fit into multiple categories.

SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; The Associated Press; Justice Department; White House Press Secretary's Office

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump pardons: The controversial patterns