Right before the July Fourth holiday, President Donald Trump issued a handful of pardons that included a major Republican donor who helped organize a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago for Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity.
According to the New York Times, Adam Kidan received an official pardon after he served two and half years in prison from 2006 to 2009 for his role in a $147.5-million SunCruz Casinos scandal that involved disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Kidan became an executive in the staffing industry after getting released and has donated millions to Republicans starting in 2017. As part of his plea-agreement, Kidan owed the US government $21.7 million, but it’s not known if he’s paid his restitution.
Earlier this year, Kidan was spotted at a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser for Garrity, and according to her campaign finance reports, Kidan spent close to $10,000 for food and drinks around the time of the event.
Kidan could be seen standing near Trump and Garrity when Trump spoke to his supporters.
“She should win… I am very unimpressed with Shapiro. I watched him on an interview, and he’s a stiff. He’s a stiff,” Trump said.
Garrity is serving her second term as treasurer and is running against Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) in November’s election.
Garrity has the odds stacked against her to say the least.
A June Franklin and Marshall poll shows that Shapiro remains a popular governor with 48% of respondents rating his job performance as “excellent” or “good.” Only 29% of respondents had similar things to say about Trump.
The poll shows Shapiro is ahead of Garrity in the race by 50% to 28%.
Shapiro also holds a significant fundraising advantage over Garrity. According to the latest round of campaign finance reports, Shapiro holds a 34-to-1 advantage when it comes to having cash on hand.
After the latest reporting period, Shapiro had over $38 million in the bank, while Garrity only had $1.1 million.
Garrity’s campaign declined to provide comment.
