Dinesh D’Souza, who was recently pardoned by President Trump, said Friday that the president called him out of the blue with the news of his pardon on Thursday and told the filmmaker that he’s been a “great voice for freedom.”
The conservative commentator said Mr. Trump told him he had been looking at his case and thought “it was fishy,” and after reviewing the details decided to rectify the injustice.
“The president said, ’Dinesh you’ve been a great voice for freedom,’ ” D’Souza said during an interview on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” Friday, reacting to the pardon.
“He said he wanted me to be out there being a bigger voice than ever defending the principles that I believe in,” he added.
D’Souza pleaded guilty to a $20,000 illegal campaign contribution made to New York Senate candidate Wendy Long in 2014. He spent eight months in a halfway house, paid a $30,000 fine and was serving a five-year probation up until Thursday when Mr. Trump pardoned him.
D’Souza said he believed the Obama Justice Department targeted him for his documentary released in 2012, titled: “2016: Obama’s America.” The film suggested former President Barack Obama planned to weaken America.
SEE ALSO: Trump pardon of Dinesh D’Souza rights a wrong, president says
“What happened here is that Obama and his team, Eric Holder …these guys decided to make an example of me, and I think the reason for this was Obama’s anger over my movie that I made about him,” D’Souza said. “This was a vindictive political hit that was aimed at putting me out of business.”
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