President Trump has granted a pardon to Paul Walczak, a health care executive from Florida, whose mother was involved in efforts to publicize Ashley Biden’s diary.
The pardon for Walczak was signed on Wednesday and announced on the Justice Department’s website on Friday. It comes shortly after Walczak was sentenced to 18 months in prison and a nearly $4.4 million restitution order for tax crimes linked to funding an extravagant lifestyle, including buying a yacht.
Elizabeth Fago, Walczak’s mother and a prominent Republican donor with ties to the Florida health care sector, aided efforts that aimed to damage Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s reputation during the 2020 election.
According to earlier reports from The New York Times, Fago was approached by an individual who had a diary belonging to Ashley Biden, who wrote in it while recovering from addiction.
When Ms. Fago learned of the diary, she believed its release could bolster Trump’s election chances, two sources told The Times. Robert Kurlander, the man who had the diary, circulated it during a fundraiser at Fago’s home in September 2020.
Fago’s daughter tipped off Project Veritas, a conservative organization that received Trump’s support. Project Veritas eventually paid $40,000 to Kurlander and another associate, Aimee Harris, for the diary.
The Justice Department looked into the diary’s theft and the involvement of Fago and her daughter. While neither was charged, Kurlander and Harris were convicted for their roles in the plot.
There’s no evidence that Walczak was involved in acquiring the diary; his charges were unrelated to that matter.
He contributed about $450 to Trump’s 2020 campaign around the time of the fundraiser at his mother’s home, but it’s unclear if he attended.
When asked about the pardon, Walczak refrained from commenting and did not respond to a follow-up regarding the diary. Fago, who has donated over $16,000 to Trump’s campaigns and was nominated by him for the National Cancer Advisory Board in December 2020, did not comment either.
Walczak’s pardon coincides with Trump increasingly exercising his broad pardon powers to reward supporters, express his grievances about perceived political bias in the justice system, and criticize foes such as the Bidens.
Last month, Trump also granted clemency to Devon Archer and Jason Galanis, business partners of Hunter Biden. They gained attention from the political right by testifying on links between Hunter’s business and his father’s political work.
Raymond R. Granger, Walczak’s attorney in the tax case, confirmed that he prepared the pardon application with help from colleagues Richard Levitt and Dennis Kainen.
Granger stated, “Paul and his family are very thankful to the president, and Paul is eager to focus on his lifelong ambition of enhancing the healthcare system in the country.”
Walczak’s pardon was issued the same day Trump also pardoned Michele Fiore, a Nevada Republican convicted last year for misusing charitable funds for personal costs, including her rent and cosmetic procedures.
A White House official claimed, without providing evidence, that both Walczak and Fiore were victims of politically motivated prosecutions by the Biden administration.
