HARTFORD, Conn. – Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, whose promising political career was upended by a corruption scandal and two federal prison stints, has been pardoned by President Donald Trump.
The Republican governor, who served from 1995 until 2004, was among a number of prominent figures the Republican president granted clemency Wednesday, including former New York Congressman Michael Grimm, also a Republican, and reality TV stars Julie and Todd Chrisley.
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A White House official confirmed the pardon but spoke only on background to discuss matters that have not yet been made public.
“I am very humbled and deeply appreciative,” Rowland said in a statement to WTNH and other news outlets in Connecticut. “This is a wonderful final resolution.”
Once the nation’s youngest governor, Rowland was elected three times to the state’s highest office before resigning at the age of 47 amid a federal corruption investigation into gifts and favors that he accepted from state contractors and a growing move by state legislators to impeach him from office.
Rowland served 10 months in a federal prison camp after pleading guilty in 2004 to one count of conspiracy to steal honest services.
It was a stunning fall from grace for a man once considered a rising star in national Republican politics.
The Waterbury native served three terms in Congress, was chairman of the national Republican Governors Association and a friend of former President George H.W. Bush. He was elected governor in 1994 at the age of 37.
After finishing his prison sentence, Rowland found new life as a popular AM radio commentator.
But in 2014 he was convicted of conspiring to hide his work on political campaigns and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.
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Associated Press reporter Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.