It was the second wave of pardons and commutations in as many days as Trump faces the end of his term.

He also gave come and see to Charles Kushner, father of his son in law, Jared Kushner.

Manafort and Stone had both declined to cooperate with the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.

The day before, Trump pardoned two other major figures in the investigation.

Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser, and George Papadopoulos, a former adviser.

Manafort was the first in Trump's inner circle to face charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller as part of the Russia probe.

Trump's pardon relieved the bulk of his 7.5 year sentence.

Manafort tweeted a statement in response.

Words cannot fully convey how grateful we are.

The Manhattan District Attorney's office, which has been trying to prosecute Manafort in New York for mortgage fraud and other alleged crimes, said it would continue to pursue an appeal for its case, which was dismissed on double Jeopardy grounds.

Stone was convicted in November 2019 for lying under oath toe lawmakers investigating Russian election interference.

Earlier this year, Trump commuted stones almost 3.5 year sentence just a day before Stone was due to serve the time.

As for Charles Kushner, he pleaded guilty in 2004 for tax evasion, witness tampering and making unlawful campaign donations.

Former Trump advisor and governor of New Jersey Chris Christie prosecuted Kushner's case in 2019.

Christie told CNN that Kushner's case was quote one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes he had prosecuted during the case.

Charles Kushner admitted to smearing his brother in law, who had cooperated with prosecutors by hiring a prostitute to have sex with him in a motel room than sending a secretly recorded video of the encounter to the man's wife, Charles Kushner's own sister.