Iran is waging a calculated campaign to preserve Lebanon as its last bastion of influence on the Mediterranean, tying the country’s fate to a grand bargain with Washington as it seeks to end Hezbollah’s war with Israel on its own terms, not Beirut’s.
A Reuters investigation found nearly all the clemency decisions made by President Trump during his current term flouted longstanding Justice Department guidelines. In place of traditional rules, the White House relies on a network of influential advocates espousing pardons based on partisan, personal criteria.