"They say the thing he did wrong was he was one of the first people that supported a gentleman named Donald Trump for president." - Donald Trump One could make

"They say the thing he did wrong was he was one of the first people that supported a gentleman named Donald Trump for president." - Donald Trump One could make a plausible attempt to justify this pardon under the premise that exaggerating claims to investors is just puffery. But by Trump's own words, he's not even bothering. This is purely about political favors.