Thank you for signing up!

Subscribe to more newsletters here

It’s Wednesday. The cast of the upcoming “Survivor 50” has been unveiled. “The White Lotus” creator Mike White is returning! Oh, and starting today, you can tap your credit card to get onto the D.C. metro. SmartTrip cards are no longer necessary!

In today's issue:

• Trump pardons reality TV stars
• The Russia-Ukraine problem for Trump
• HBO casts for new “Harry Potter” series
• National Hamburger Day deals

🌡️️ IN THE WHITE HOUSE

I beg your *pardon*:

President Trump has been using his pardon power to settle political scores, granting clemency to controversial people whom he believes have been politically targeted.

♦️ The first: Trump is expected to pardon reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were convicted in 2022 for evading taxes and conspiracy to defraud banks of more than $30 million (!) to support their lifestyle.

Their daughter, Savannah Chrisley, told NewsNation’s “On Balance” that Trump told her during their phone conversation that “you guys don’t look like terrorists.” Keep in mind that Savannah Chrisley also spoke at the Republican National Convention (RNC) last July, arguing Trump and her parents have been targeted for their conservative beliefs.

By the way: “Tiger King’s” Joe ‘Exotic’ Maldonado, who is serving a 21-year sentence, is not happy about this pardon.

📹 Video of Trump talking to the Chrisley’s children

♦️ The second: The New York Times’s Kenneth P. Vogel reported on Wednesday that President Trump signed a full pardon of a tax cheat whose pardon application focused on his mother’s “MAGA” support. Paul Walczak’s pardon was granted shortly after his mom attended a $1 million per person Mar-a-Lago fundraiser last month.

Prosecutors say Walczak withheld millions of dollars in paychecks for nurses and doctors at a nursing home. He pleaded guilty on multiple tax-related crimes and was ordered to pay nearly $4.4 million in restitution and 18 months in prison. Vogel reports that he won’t have to serve any prison time or pay any of the restitution.

♦️ The third: Trump announced a pardon on Monday for Scott Jenkins, a former Virginia sheriff who was convicted of accepting more than $70,000 in bribes. The bribes were in the form of cash or campaign contributions and were accepted from more than half a dozen people, including two undercover FBI agents. Trump claims that Jenkins, a supporter of his, was “dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ.” What to know about Scott Jenkins

Let’s not forget: During Trump’s........

© The Hill