Trump's pardon of tax fraudster Paul Walczak after his mom attended $1M Mar-a-Lago dinner sparks backlash

WASHINGTON, DC: A convicted tax fraudster received a full presidential pardon from Donald Trump just weeks after his mother attended an exclusive $1 million-per-head fundraiser at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, according to a report by The New York Times.

Paul Walczak, a Florida-based healthcare executive who admitted to misappropriating millions in employee tax withholdings for personal luxuries, received a full presidential pardon on Friday, April 25.

Donald Trump grants pardon to tax offender after mother’s $1M fundraiser appearance

The decision came just three weeks after Paul Walczak's mother, Republican donor Elizabeth Fago, paid $1 million to attend an exclusive Mar-a-Lago dinner that offered high-level access to Donald Trump.

The pardon meant that Walczak, who had not yet reported to begin serving his 18-month prison sentence, would avoid jail entirely and escape paying nearly $4.4 million in court-ordered restitution.

According to federal prosecutors, Walczak withheld more than $7 million in taxes from employee paychecks between 2016 and 2019, but failed to remit those funds to the IRS. Instead, he financed a life of excess, including the purchase of a yacht, luxury goods from Cartier and Saks, and hundreds of thousands in personal transfers.

All told, the IRS was deprived of over $10 million in revenue due to Walczak’s actions, which the Justice Department described as “sustained, calculated fraud.”

Despite the seriousness of his crimes, his pardon application suggested the prosecution was politically motivated, hinting that his mother’s close ties to Trump may have played a role. Initially, the clemency bid appeared stalled. But shortly after Fago’s high-dollar attendance at Trump’s Palm Beach event, Walczak’s record was wiped clean.

According to the Times, the decision “came just in the nick of time for Mr Walczak, sparing him from having to pay nearly $4.4 million in restitution and from reporting to prison for an 18-month sentence that had been handed down just 12 days earlier. A judge had justified the incarceration by declaring that there “is not a get-out-of-jail-free card” for the rich.”

Elizabeth Fago’s political reach and family ties

Elizabeth Fago had been a visible supporter of Donald Trump, helping organize multiple campaign fundraisers and even attending VIP inauguration events with her family.

She attempted to hand over the diary to Trump’s campaign team, convinced it could give him an edge over Biden, but instead of acting on it, the campaign’s lawyers were concerned by the move and reported it to the FBI.

According to the report, “the FBI did not retrieve the diary. Instead, Mr Kurlander and Ms Harris entered negotiations to provide it to Project Veritas, a Trump-allied undercover media group that had been tipped to the diary’s existence by Stephanie Walczak, Ms Fago’s daughter.”

The Justice Department opened an investigation into the theft and attempted distribution of the diary during Trump’s presidency, a probe that continued under the Biden administration. It ultimately led to guilty pleas from Robert Kurlander, a close friend of Fago, and Aimee Harris, the Florida woman who originally found the diary in a rental home.

According to the Times, “In January, with Mr Trump preparing to move back into the White House, Ms Fago and her family traveled to Washington for the inauguration. They got VIP access to the Trump Victory rally at the Capital One Arena in Washington.”

The report noted that, “On Feb 5, Mr Trump’s Justice Department said it was closing the investigation into the diary. Ms Fago and Ms Walczak were not charged, nor was anyone from Project Veritas.”

Donald Trump sparks outrage for pardoning Paul Walczak

News that Donald Trump pardoned a tax cheat after the individual’s mother attended a $1 million dinner at Mar-a-Lago has ignited a firestorm online.

One user expressed deep frustration, “More shocking than the corruption is how brazenly Trump is perpetrating it. Like they do not want to expend any energy to conceal or be discreet. This is something new.”

Others were even harsher in their criticism, “Disgusting. Trump didn’t just pardon a tax cheat—he auctioned justice to the highest bidder. $1 million dinner, a smear on Biden, and boom—your felon walks free. This isn’t a presidency. It’s a mafia family with campaign merch.”

Some users were blunt about the motivations behind the pardon, writing, “Make Trump family rich again,” one wrote.

And others called it classic Trump behavior, “And certainly not surprising. It's the Trump way.”

Another commented, “Yep, his mommie fixed it for him.”

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