President Ahmed al-Sharaa once had ties to al-Qaida and had a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. Then he led the rebel forces that toppled former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last year.
The pardons of former Trump aides, which would only apply in federal court, are largely symbolic and cannot shield them from ongoing state-level prosecutions.
The visit by President Ahmed al-Shara is another step in the transformation of the former rebel leader once wanted by the United States as a terrorist.
