US President Donald Trump has signed a full pardon for former media mogul Conrad Black, who he describes as a “friend”.
Black, 74, was convicted of fraud and obstructing justice in 2007 and jailed for more than three years in the US.
A White House statement described him as an “entrepreneur and scholar”.
Canadian-born Black, who has British nationality, was released in 2012. Last year he published the book Donald J Trump: A President Like No Other.
The British peer once ran a media empire that included the UK’s Daily Telegraph, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Jerusalem Post.
“Lord Black’s case has attracted broad support from many high-profile individuals who have vigorously vouched for his exceptional character,” a White House statement announcing the pardon said.
It said he had made “tremendous contributions to business, as well as to political and historical thought” and that, “in light of these facts”, he was “entirely deserving of this Grant of Executive Clemency”.
On Twitter, Black said when the White House had phoned him, he believed it to be a “prank” by his “friends in the British tabloid media”.
When my assistant said there was a call from the White House, I picked up, said “Hello” and started to ask if this was a prank (suspecting my friends in the British tabloid media), but the caller spoke politely over me: “Please hold for the president.” https://t.co/8jdA7j5dMO
— Conrad Black (@ConradMBlack) May 16, 2019
