A former US spy who was facing jail time in Italy credits President Trump’s administration for her recent pardon

(LISBON, PORTUGAL) A former U.S. spy, newly pardoned by Italy in connection with the CIA kidnap of a terrorism suspect in Milan, has credited President Donald Trump’s administration with saving her from an Italian jail.

Sabrina de Sousa was transferred between Portuguese prisons and had Italian police flying in to extradite her before being granted an 11th hour reprieve last week, with a former congressman pulling strings for her in Washington.

The 60-year-old is one of 26 people convicted by Italy in absentia over the 2003 abduction of Egyptian cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, but the only one to spend any time in prison for an operation in which she denies involvement.

The dual Portuguese-U.S. citizen says she was abandoned by the previous White House administration in her long fight over the case, which she plans to describe in a book. She thanks Trump’s team for helping her since Portuguese authorities arrested her on Feb. 20 with the intention of sending her to Italy.

“This administration has been absolutely awesome … If the Trump administration didn’t say anything, didn’t do anything, I’m very confident I’d be in an Italian jail,” she told Reuters in an interview.

Pete Hoekstra, the former chair of the House Intelligence Committee who worked to prevent de Sousa’s extradition, confirmed contacts with the Trump administration about the case and expressed his “deep appreciation to the all three governments involved in the successful outcome for Sabrina.”

Reuters copy, TRUNEWS analysis