President pardons 11 people, including former Abramoff partner and nine in emissions cases

President Trump on Friday issued pardons for 11 people, among them a former business partner of lobbyist Jack Abramoff and nine individuals convicted of Clean Air Act violations tied to vehicle emissions systems. The White House released the list Friday evening after Trump announced several of the pardons earlier in the day on social media.

the pardons involved charges for disabling emissions monitoring systems on vehicles or selling devices that allowed those systems to be bypassed. The White House described the actions as relieving consumers of regulatory burdens. The pardons follow a Monday memo from Trump to the Environmental Protection Agency stating that Americans may modify their vehicles as they see fit.

The memo also addressed aftermarket auto parts and superseded the California Air Resources Board's authority to evaluate parts affecting emissions.

other recipients Trump also pardoned Adam Kidan, who pleaded guilty in 2005 to fraud and conspiracy in connection with the purchase of a fleet of gambling boats and was sentenced in 2006 to nearly six years in prison. The case formed part of the early-2000s lobbying investigation involving Abramoff, Capitol Hill and the Interior Department.

After his release in 2009, Kidan worked at a staffing agency, later founded Chartwell Staffing Solutions and now serves as president of Empire Workforce Solutions, the White House said. Newsday reported in March that Kidan hosted a fundraiser at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort for a Long Island Republican congressional candidate.

Trump additionally pardoned ranch owner Jack Harvard, citing his "upstanding record" after conviction and noting that he had allowed U.S. military and NATO troops to train on his land at no charge. The White House did not release further details on Harvard's conviction.