Donald Trump pardoned Jonathan Braun, a convicted drug smuggler, on his last day in office. Meanwhile, the DOJ hoped to use Braun in a separate probe into the predatory lending business. AdvertisementDonald Trump's pardoning of a convicted marijuana smuggler with ties to the Kushner family threw a wrench in the Justice Department's larger probe into the predatory lending industry, The New York Times reported. He spent nearly the next decade leading a predatory lending operation as a "principal" of Richmond Capital group, prosecutors said in court documents seen by Business Insider. AdvertisementIn a telephone interview with the Times, Braun denied any wrongdoing as a lender.

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Persons: Donald Trump, Jonathan Braun, Braun, —, Donald Trump's pardoning, Kushner, Trump, Jared Kushner, Ivanka, Jared Kushner's, Nicole, Isaac Wolf, Braun's, Charles, Alan Dershowitz, Dershowitz Organizations: DOJ, Service, New York Times, Trump's, Times, Richmond Capital, Business Insider, Prosecutors, Bloomberg, NY, AG, Justice Department, Trump, White, Trump Administration, Kushner Yeshiva High School, US Locations: Staten Island, New York, Manhattan, Livingston , New Jersey, Pennsylvania