In 1974, Steinbrenner was indicted on 14 criminal charges of making illegal contributions to President Richard Nixon's re-election campaign. He would later plead guilty to obstruction of justice and conspiring to make illegal campaign contributions. A major Republican donor, he was slapped with a two-year suspension from baseball, though it was later reduced to just nine months. The charges remained on Steinbrenner's record until 1989, when President Ronald Reagan granted him a pardon after he admitted to his wrongdoing.