Trump commutes sentence of political donor, intelligence asset Imaad Zuberi

President Trump has commuted the sentence of political donor Imaad Zuberi, who received a 12-year prison sentence in 2021 for making illegal campaign contributions to former President Biden, GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, and others. The charges came after he resisted pressure to provide evidence of Trump-Russia collusion that he did not possess.

Zuberi also had long-time ties to U.S. intelligence, especially the Central Intelligence Agency, and was working for the community until he was charged by federal prosecutors, Just the News previously reported. The agency paused its work with Zuberi after he was wrapped up in the investigation into his finances spurred by the Justice Department's probe into Russia collusion allegations.

After he was charged, Zuberi's lawyers later filed two complaints to the CIA’s chief watchdog alleging he witnessed "flagrant problems, abuses, violations of law” while working as an asset.

A White House official confirmed the commuted sentence to NewsNation on Wednesday, The Hill news outlet reported.

Records previously reviewed by Just the News showed Zuberi's lawyers engaged in plea discussions with federal prosecutors to impose a modest $1 million fine and no prison time. In exchange, Zuberi would be required to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russia-Trump collusion and deliver evidence against the president, his inner circle and certain senators and congressman. 

However, Zuberi could not deliver what the prosecutors wanted: he did not know of any foreign collusion connected to the inaugural committee, and he told prosecutors the money he used for the donations was his own. The final criminal charges did not even allege his donation to the Trump campaign came from foreign sources.

In 2019 and 2020, Zuberi pleaded guilty to tax evasion, lobbying top U.S. officials while working as a foreign agent, campaign finance violations and obstruction of justice. With his prison sentence, Zuberi was also ordered to pay close to $16 million in restitution and a nearly $2 million fine.

“I’m deeply sorry and, of course, humiliated,” Zuberi previously told the judge overseeing his case. “I have no excuse for what I’ve done.”

He has also faced accusations of organizing meetings between U.S. and foreign politicians in addition to being behind a straw donor plot.

Zuberi donated over $1.1 million in the three months following Trump’s first election victory to committees linked with the president and the Republican Party, following his previous backing of former President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her 2016 presidential race, The New York Times reported.

You can read each of Just the News’ prior stories on Zuberi and his allegations of abuses in the intelligence community below: 

Convicted Democratic fund-raiser had secret ties to U.S. intelligence

CIA shocker: Obama fundraiser says he was U.S. intel asset, alleges spy agency 'abuses'

Disparate treatment in two fund-raising fraud cases renews debate over dual Justice system

New evidence calls into question prosecutors' claims in high-profile fundraiser corruption case