WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 (CNA) - United States President Donald Trump has granted clemency to former White House aide Steve Bannon as part of a wave of 73 pardons and 70 commutations issued in his final hours in office.

Bannon, who was a key adviser in Trump's 2016 presidential run, was charged last year with swindling Trump supporters over an effort to raise private funds to build the president's wall on the US-Mexico border. He has pleaded not guilty.

"Bannon has been an important leader in the conservative movement and is known for his political acumen," the White House said in a statement.

Trump did not pardon himself, members of his family or lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who was at the forefront of unsuccessful efforts to get the results of the 2020 presidential election overturned, according to sources.

Giuliani has not been charged with a crime, but investigators have been probing his activities in Ukraine.

Trump was impeached by the Democratic-led House last week on charges of inciting the Jan 6 storming of the US Capitol by his supporters. He may face a Senate trial and could be barred from running for president again if convicted.

Trump leaves office on Wednesday (Jan 20), when Joe Biden is sworn in as the nation's next president.

White House officials had argued to Trump that he should not pardon himself or his family because it might look like they are guilty of crimes, according to a source familiar with the situation.

White House officials had also advised Trump against pardoning Bannon. The two men have lately rekindled their relationship as Trump sought support for his unproven claims of voter fraud, an official familiar with the situation said.

The president also pardoned Elliott Broidy, a former top Trump fundraiser who pleaded guilty last year to violating foreign lobbying laws, and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who was serving a 28-year prison term on corruption charges.

Rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black who were prosecuted on federal weapons offenses, were also granted pardons.

Another name on the pardon list was former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski, who was sentenced for stealing a trade secret on self-driving cars months before he briefly headed Uber Technologies' rival unit.