Trump has known some of those he favored this week for years, including Kerik and Milken, the so-called junk bond king who tried at least twice to obtain a pardon from Bush without success. Trump called Milken “a brilliant guy” in his first memoir and has hosted him at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. He called Kerik “a friend of mine” and “a great guy” in 2004 when Kerik was forced to withdraw his nomination for Bush’s secretary of homeland security because of ethics issues.