Supporters of President Donald Trump with felony convictions see a window to have their sentences overturned, based on shared political grievances and loyalty to the president, The New York Times reported.
Attorneys and lobbyists with previous connections to Trump are accepting hefty compensation from those seeking pardons, with the priority being giving to those people who have similar issues with the federal justice system. Trump often characterized the four indictments filed against him as a politically motivated “witch hunt,” and he now has the authority to offer other perceived victims a reprieve.
Within a few hours of taking office, Trump signed dozens of executive orders, among them was granting a “full, complete and unconditional” pardon to roughly 1,500 of the 1,583 defendants charged in the Jan 6, 2021, riots on Capitol Hill. The move was seen by some as a favor to his most loyal supporters.
Now, those seeking clemency come with more name recognition such as Fugees Rapper Pras Michel, reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, and two D.C. police officers convicted after a pursuit killed a young man.
Critics argue former President Joe Biden’s actions opened up Trump to use the pardon system in a similar way to reward his advocates. In the final days and hours of his presidency, Biden gave preemptive pardons to several members on his immediate family as well as politicians and policymakers who were perceived to be on Trump’s “enemies list.”
Former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci and former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming were among those Biden pardoned in his final days.
The Trump administration has purged federal employees left over from the Biden administration who might stand in the way of its goals — the pardon process included.
In February, Trump appointed Alice Marie Johnson to be “pardon czar.” And on Friday, the administration fired pardon attorney Liz Oyer, who had served in the position since 2022.
Rachel E. Barkow, a professor at New York University School of Law, claimed Trump’s first administration was mired in “cronyism and partisanship and helping out his friends and his political advisers” and his second administration is “going to be worse.”
“The potential for corruption is higher” this time around, Barkow said. “Because they’re starting early, they have figured out how they want to set it up so that people have a pipeline to get to them.”
Former federal prosecutor Alex Little represents three people seeking clemency with appeals that are similar to Trump’s grievance.
“There are key players in the Trump administration who have had a front-row seat to prosecutorial misconduct,” he told the Times. “It changes your perspective on these issues, and it’s difficult to ignore that when you’re back in government.”
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