Editing Dinesh D'Souza (section)

==Campaign finance violation, felony guilty plea, conviction, and pardon==
[[File:2018-05-31=Trump-Pardon-Dinesh dsouza warrant 2018 05 31.pdf|thumb|2018 pardon granted by Donald Trump]]
On January 23, 2014, D'Souza was charged with making $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions to the New York Senate campaign of [[Wendy Long]] and causing false statements to be made to the [[Federal Election Commission]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/conservative-author-and-pundit-dinesh-dsouza-charged-in-campaign-finance-case/2014/01/23/69c67ee4-848a-11e3-bbe5-6a2a3141e3a9_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|first1=Tom|last1=Hamburger|first2=Alice|last2=Crites|title=Conservative author and pundit Dinesh D'Souza charged in campaign finance case|date=January 24, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724085522/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/conservative-author-and-pundit-dinesh-dsouza-charged-in-campaign-finance-case/2014/01/23/69c67ee4-848a-11e3-bbe5-6a2a3141e3a9_story.html|archive-date=July 24, 2017}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/January14/DineshDSouzaCharges.php|title=Former College President Indicted In Manhattan Federal Court For Campaign Finance Fraud|publisher=Justice.gov|date=January 23, 2014|access-date=March 20, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416043422/http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/January14/DineshDSouzaCharges.php|archive-date=April 16, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Hunter|last=Walker|work=Talking Points Memo|date=January 23, 2014|url=http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/dinesh-dsouza-campaign-finance-indictment|title=Conservative Author Dinesh D'Souza Charged with Campaign Finance Fraud|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124065127/http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/dinesh-dsouza-campaign-finance-indictment|archive-date=January 24, 2014}}</ref> His attorney responded to the charges by saying his client "did not act with any corrupt or criminal intent whatsoever" and described the incident as "at most ... an act of misguided friendship".<ref name="Stempel">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-dsouza-idUSBREA0M22W20140123|title=Dinesh D'Souza indicted for violating U.S. election law|last=Stempel|first=Jonathan|date=January 23, 2014|newspaper=Reuters|access-date=January 23, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124021540/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/23/us-usa-politics-dsouza-idUSBREA0M22W20140123|archive-date=January 24, 2014}}</ref><ref name="nyt-indictment">{{cite news|work=The New York Times|title=Dinesh D'Souza Is Charged With Using Straw Donors to Give to a Campaign|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/24/nyregion/dinesh-dsouza-is-charged-with-using-straw-donors-to-give-to-a-campaign.html|date=January 23, 2014|first=Matt|last=Apuzzo|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801050220/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/24/nyregion/dinesh-dsouza-is-charged-with-using-straw-donors-to-give-to-a-campaign.html|archive-date=August 1, 2017}}</ref>

On May 15, 2014, [[United States district court|United States district judge]] [[Richard M. Berman]] rejected the contention that D'Souza was singled out for prosecution, stating, "The court concludes the defendant has respectfully submitted no evidence he was selectively prosecuted."<ref>{{Citation|first1=Nate|last1=Raymond|first2=Jonathan|last2=Stempel|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-politics-dsouza-idUSL1N0O11WO20140515|title=D'Souza fails to win dismissal of U.S. charges over straw donors|publisher=Reuters|date=May 15, 2014|access-date=May 18, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518223729/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/15/usa-politics-dsouza-idUSL1N0O11WO20140515|archive-date=May 18, 2014}}</ref>

On May 20, 2014, D'Souza pleaded guilty to one [[felony]] count of making illegal contributions [[straw donor|in the names of others]].<ref name="plea">{{Citation|title=Dinesh D'Souza Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Campaign Finance Fraud|publisher=FBI|date=May 20, 2014|url=https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/newyork/news/press-releases/dinesh-dsouza-pleads-guilty-in-manhattan-federal-court-to-campaign-finance-fraud|access-date=November 11, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101014423/https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/newyork/news/press-releases/dinesh-dsouza-pleads-guilty-in-manhattan-federal-court-to-campaign-finance-fraud|archive-date=November 1, 2020}}</ref> On September 23, 2014, the court sentenced D'Souza to five years' probation, eight months incarceration in a [[halfway house]] (referred to as a "community confinement center") and a $30,000 fine.<ref name="Raymond">{{cite news|last1=Raymond|first1=Nate|title=Obama critic D'Souza spared prison for violating election law|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-dsouza-idUSKCN0HI23820140923|work=Reuters|date=September 23, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127230247/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/23/us-usa-politics-dsouza-idUSKCN0HI23820140923|archive-date=November 27, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Mahler">{{cite news|last1=Mahler|first1=Jonathan|title=D'Souza Is Spared Prison Time for Campaign Finance Violations|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/us/dsouza-is-spared-prison-time-for-campaign-finance-violations.html|work=The New York Times|date=September 23, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160517223423/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/us/dsouza-is-spared-prison-time-for-campaign-finance-violations.html|archive-date=May 17, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Nate|last=Raymond|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-dsouza/dsouza-gets-community-confinement-for-election-law-violation-idUSKCN0HI23820140923|title=Obama critic D'Souza spared prison for violating election law|work=Reuters|date=September 23, 2014|access-date=February 21, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908080551/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-dsouza/dsouza-gets-community-confinement-for-election-law-violation-idUSKCN0HI23820140923|archive-date=September 8, 2017}}</ref>

On May 31, 2018, President Donald Trump [[Federal pardons in the United States|pardoned]] D'Souza.<ref name=":9">{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-offers-pardon-to-conservative-pundit-dinesh-dsouza-for-campaign-finance-violations/2018/05/31/b4939a08-64d5-11e8-a768-ed043e33f1dc_story.html |title=Trump pardons conservative pundit Dinesh D'Souza, suggests others also could receive clemency |last1=Rucker |first1=Philip |access-date=2019-11-11 |last2=Dawsey |first2=Josh |last3=Wagner |first3=John |language=en |archive-date=May 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180531182835/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-offers-pardon-to-conservative-pundit-dinesh-dsouza-for-campaign-finance-violations/2018/05/31/b4939a08-64d5-11e8-a768-ed043e33f1dc_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Himmelman_5/21/2022" /><ref name=":11">{{Cite news|agency=PTI|date=2018-06-01|title=Indian Americans D'Souza, Bharara in Twitter spat|language=en-IN|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/indian-americans-dsouza-bharara-in-twitter-spat/article24054167.ece|access-date=2021-09-27|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=September 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927124802/https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/indian-americans-dsouza-bharara-in-twitter-spat/article24054167.ece|url-status=live}}</ref>