President Trump Grants Pardons to Twelve White-Collar Criminals

Also certainly to be discussed by the federal judges today, will be the 12 pardons by President Trump yesterday. The president granted eleven clemencies and commuted one sentence for convicted white-collar criminals. The commuted sentence was for that of former Illinois governor Rod Blagoyevich who was accused of attempting to sell a U.S. senate seat and only served half of his 14 year sentence. And among those pardoned were former New York Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik convicted of tax fraud, and former owner of the San Francisco 49ers Eddie Debartolo Jr., who pled guilty to failing to report a felony bribery case. These pardons undermined years of hard work by lawyers and law enforcement professionals who worked tirelessly to get these criminals put away. It’s also been hugely concerning to the public who believe this further casts doubts over the DOJ’s credibility and their ability to remain unpersuaded by politics.