'No MAGA left behind': The trouble with Trump's pardons
A jury convicted Scott Jenkins, the disgraced ex-sheriff of Culpeper County in Virginia, of taking more than $75,000 in bribes in exchange for deputizing rich businessmen so they could get out of speeding tickets and carry guns without permits. Two undercover FBI agents who gave him envelopes of cash after he gave them badges testified at his trial. Luckily for Jenkins, he has long been an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump. On Monday, the day before he was due to report for his 10-year prison sentence, Trump pardoned him.
Make sense of the latest news and debates with our daily newsletter
“No MAGA left behind,” tweeted Ed Martin, Trump’s new pardon attorney at the Justice Department, about Jenkins.
The spree continued Wednesday, as Trump pardoned 17 more people and commuted sentences for eight others. Many of these beneficiaries appeared to be supporters — or targets of political corruption probes. Michael Grimm, who served seven months in prison after pleading guilty to tax fraud, became the eighth former Republican congressman to be pardoned by Trump. Michael Harris (a.k.a. Harry-O), the Death Row Records co-founder who was convicted of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, endorsed Trump in October. He’s now free from what had been a potential life sentence. Imaad Zuberi, a major donor convicted of obstructing an investigation into Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee, got a commutation.
“Freedom for Captives!” Martin tweeted Wednesday.
This surge in pardons undermines the rule of law, nullifies the judgment of juries and sends a loud message that America has a two-tier system of justice — in which the politically connected are held to lower standards than everyone else. Even though many of those Trump pardoned had previously apologized for their criminal conduct, the president now says they were railroaded by the Justice Department.
https://wapo.st/4mBu6bL
= new reply since forum marked as read
Pardons criminals.
News at 11.
