Trump's Latest Pardons Benefit Political Allies, Public Figures
Washington:
A governor who resigned amid a corruption scandal and served two stints in federal prison. A New York Republican who resigned from Congress after a tax fraud conviction and who made headlines for threatening to throw a reporter off a Capitol balcony over a question he didn't like. Reality TV stars convicted of cheating banks and evading taxes.
All were unlikely beneficiaries this week of pardons, with President Donald Trump flexing his executive power to bestow clemency on political allies, prominent public figures and others convicted of defrauding the public. The moves not only take aim at criminal cases once touted as just by the Justice Department but also come amid a continuing Trump administration erosion of public integrity guardrails, including the firing of the department's pardon attorney and the near-dismantling of a prosecution unit established to hold public officials accountable for abusing the public trust.
"He is using pardons to essentially override the verdicts of juries, to set aside the sentences that have been imposed by judges and to accomplish political objectives," said Liz Oyer, who was fired in March as the Justice Department's pardon attorney after she says she refused to endorse restoring the gun rights of actor Mel Gibson, a Trump supporter. "That is very damaging and destructive to our system of justice."
To be sure, other presidents have courted controversy with their clemency decisions. President Gerald Ford famously pardoned his predecessor, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton pardoned fugitive financier Marc Rich just hours before the Democratic president left office. More recently, President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family.
But the pardons announced Wednesday are part of a pattern of clemency grants that began in Trump's first term and has continued in the current one in which bold-faced names, prominent supporters and defendants whose causes are championed by friends time and again have an edge on ordinary citizens who lack connections to the White House.
In 2020, for instance, he pardoned allies convicted in the Russia election interference investigation that shadowed his first term as well as his son-in-law's father, Charles Kushner, who was later named ambassador to France.
On his first day back in office, he pardoned, commuted the prison sentences or vowed to dismiss the cases of all of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes in the Jan. 6, 2021, US Capitol riot, using his clemency powers to undo the massive prosecution of the unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy.
Twice indicted by the Justice Department, and entangled in criminal investigations in the White House and in his post-presidency life, Trump has long conveyed public suspicion about prosecutorial power and found common cause with politicians - including on the other side of the aisle - he sees as having been mistreated like he believes he was.
In February, for instance, the Republican president pardoned former Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich after having earlier commuted his 14-year sentence on political corruption charges. Blagojevich, he said, "was set up by a lot of bad people, some of the same people I had to deal with."
The most recent pardon beneficiaries include former GOP New York Rep. Michael Grimm, who pleaded guilty in 2014 to underreporting wages and revenue at a restaurant he ran in Manhattan. The former Marine and FBI agent resigned from Congress the following year and was sentenced to eight months in prison. Grimm tried to reenter politics in 2018 but lost a primary for his old district.
Others include former Republican Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, whose once-promising political career was cut short by a criminal case over gifts and favors from state contractors. Rowland was later convicted and imprisoned a second time for conspiring to hide his work on political campaigns and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.
The White House also announced pardons for rap artist NBA YoungBoy on gun-related charges and TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, famous for "Chrisley Knows Best," a reality show that followed their family and extravagant lifestyle that prosecutors said was boosted by bank fraud and hiding earnings from tax authorities. The couple was convicted in 2022 of conspiring to defraud banks out of more than $30 million in loans by submitting false documents.
The latest pardons unfold as Trump has departed from the norms and protocols of the clemency process and as the Justice Department has signaled a tweaked approach to public corruption and white-collar fraud.
The department, for instance, has long had a pardon attorney tasked with sifting through applications from defendants and recommending clemency to the White House for those seen as having served their debt to society and accepted responsibility for their crimes, including drug offenders serving long sentences and not generally known to the public or connected to the powerful.
In place of Oyer, the fired pardon attorney, the administration installed Ed Martin, a Trump loyalist who briefly served as interim US attorney in Washington. He has already pledged to scrutinize pardons that Biden issued on his way out of office and has said he would take a "hard look" at two men serving long prison terms for leading a conspiracy to kidnap Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Meanwhile, the department's vaunted public integrity section, created in the post-Watergate era to investigate and prosecute public officials for abusing their powers, has been dramatically slashed, whittled down to just a handful of lawyers.
The section endured an exodus of prosecutors after Justice Department leaders demanded the dismissal of a corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams in part so he could assist in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
The pardons, said Princeton University presidential historian Julian Zelizer, fit "within the fold of his presidency, where he uses a lot of his power either for retribution or reward rather than for just kind of pure policy-making. We have to understand the pardons in that framework."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
31 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Trump fast-tracks Utah uranium mine, but industry revival may wait for higher prices
SALT LAKE CITY — In the southeastern Utah desert famous for red rock arches and canyon labyrinths, the long-dormant uranium mining industry is looking to revive under President Donald Trump. Hundreds of abandoned uranium mines dot the West's arid landscapes, hazardous reminders of the promise and peril of nuclear power during the Cold War. Now, one mine that the Trump administration fast-tracked for regulatory approval could reopen for the first time since the 1980s. Normally it would have taken months, if not years, for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to review plans to reopen a project like Anfield Energy's Velvet-Wood mine 35 miles south of Moab. But the bureau's regulators green-lit the project in just 11 days under a 'national energy emergency' Trump has declared that allows expedited environmental reviews for energy projects. More permits and approvals will be needed, plus site work to get the mine operating again. And the price of uranium would have to rise enough to make domestic production financially sustainable. If that happens, it would mean revival — and jobs — to an industry that locally has been moribund since the Ronald Reagan era. 'President Trump has made it clear that our energy security is national security," Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in announcing the fast-tracking policy in April. 'These emergency procedures reflect our unwavering commitment to protecting both.' More fast approvals appear likely. Trump's order also applies to oil, gas, coal, biofuel and hydropower projects — but not renewable energy — on federal lands. Global uranium prices are double what they were at a low point seven years ago and, for the past year, the U.S. has banned uranium imports from Russia due to that country's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. More domestic mining would address a major imbalance. The U.S. imports about 98% of the uranium it uses to generate 30% of the world's nuclear energy. More than two-thirds of U.S. imports come from the world's top three uranium-mining countries: Canada, Australia and Kazakhstan. Less government regulation won't spur more U.S. uranium mining by itself. The market matters. And while spot-market prices are up from several years ago, they're down about a third from their recent high in early 2024. While some new uranium mining and processing projects have been announced, their number falls far short of a surge. That suggests prices need to rise — and stay there — for a true industry revival, said John Uhrie, a former uranium executive who now works in the cement industry. 'Until the price goes up dramatically, you're not going to be able to actually put these places into operation,' Uhrie said. 'You need significant capital on the ground.' Still, the industry is showing new life in the Southwest. Anfield Energy, a Canadian company, also looks to reopen the Shootaring Canyon uranium mill in southern Utah near Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. It closed in the early 1980s. A uranium mill turns raw ore into yellowcake, a powdery substance later processed elsewhere into nuclear fuel. Anfield officials did not return messages seeking comment on plans to reopen the mill and the Velvet-Wood mine. Energy Fuels, another Canadian company which ranks as the top U.S. uranium miner, opened the Pinyon Plain mine about 10 miles from the Grand Canyon in late 2023. And just off U.S. 191 in southeastern Utah is a hub of the industry, Uranium Fuels' White Mesa mill, the country's only uranium mill still in operation. These days, Moab is a desert tourism hot spot bustling with outdoor enthusiasts. But the town of 5,200 has a deeper history with uranium. Nods to Moab's post-World War II mining heyday can been spotted around town — the Atomic Hair Salon isn't just named for its blowout hairstyles. The biggest reminder is the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action project, a 480-acre site just outside town. The decades-long, $1 billion U.S. Department of Energy effort to haul off toxic tailings that were leaching into the Colorado River upstream from the Grand Canyon and Lake Mead should wrap up within five more years. That mill's polluting legacy makes some Moab residents wary of restarting uranium mining and processing, especially after the Trump administration cut short their ability to weigh in on the Velvet-Wood mine plans. 'This was a process I would have been involved in,' said Sarah Fields, director of the local group Uranium Watch. 'They provided no opportunity for the public to say, 'You need to look at this, you need to look at that.'" Grand Canyon Trust, a group critical of the Pinyon Plain mine as a danger to groundwater, points out that the U.S. nuclear industry isn't at risk of losing access to uranium. 'This is all being done under the assumption there is some energy emergency and that is just not true,' said Amber Reimondo, the group's energy director. Hundreds of miles to the north, other nuclear energy projects point to the U.S. industry's future. With Bill Gates' support, TerraPower is building a 345-megawatt sodium-cooled fast reactor outside Kemmerer in western Wyoming that could, in theory, meet demand for carbon-free power at lower costs and with less construction time than conventional reactor units. Meanwhile, about 40% of uranium mined in the U.S. in 2024 came from four Wyoming 'in-situ' mines that use wells to dissolve uranium in underground deposits and pump it to the surface without having to dig big holes or send miners underground. Similar mines in Texas and Nebraska and stockpiled ore processed at White Mesa accounted for the rest. None — as yet — came from mines in Utah. Powering electric cars and computing technology will require more electricity in the years ahead. Nuclear power offers a zero-carbon, round-the-clock option. Meeting the demand for nuclear fuel domestically is another matter. With prices higher, almost 700,000 pounds of yellowcake was produced in the U.S. in 2024 — up more than a dozen-fold from the year before but still far short of the 32 million pounds imported into the U.S. Even if mining increases, it's not clear that U.S. capacity to turn the ore into fuel would keep pace, said Uhrie, the former uranium mining executive. "Re-establishing a viable uranium industry from soup to nuts — meaning from mining through processing to yellow cake production, to conversion, to enrichment to produce nuclear fuel — remains a huge lift," Uhrie said. Gruver reported from Cheyenne, Wyoming.
The Hindu
32 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Reveal truth to country: Congress to govt after CDS' remarks on losses in Operation Sindoor
The Congress asked the government on Saturday (May 31, 2025) to tell the country the truth on what losses were suffered during the four-day conflict with Pakistan after Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan acknowledged aircraft loss in the hostilities. Gen Chouhan, however, dismissed as "absolutely incorrect" Islamabad's claim of downing six Indian jets. Latching on to the comment by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Congress leader Uttam Kumar Reddy said the country wanted to know whether any aircraft were downed during the conflict, especially in the wake of the CDS' "admission". "A government has to be transparent. Accountability is normal in a democracy. This is not about patriotism. We are more patriotic. Our first family, the Gandhi family, themselves suffered and have made huge sacrifices for the integrity of the country and these people question us. This is really shocking, bizarre," the Congress leader said. He reiterated that Congress supports the Indian armed forces in every endeavour. "The party congratulates them as they have done a great job and we are proud of them, we salute them," he said. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that on July 29, 1999, the Vajpayee government set up the Kargil Review Committee under the chairmanship of "India's strategic affairs guru K Subrahmanyam, whose son is now our external affairs minister". This was just three days after the Kargil war ended, he said. "The committee submitted its detailed report five months later. The report titled 'From Surprise to Reckoning' was then laid on the Table of both Houses of Parliament on February 23, 2000, after the necessary redactions. "Will the Modi government now take a similar step in light of what the Chief of Defence Staff has just revealed in Singapore?" Mr. Ramesh posed in a post on X. Gen Chauhan, in an interview with Bloomberg TV, asserted it is more important to find out why the aircraft were lost so that the Indian military could improve tactics and hit back again. "I think what is important is not the jet being downed but why they were being downed," he said. Gen Chauhan was asked whether India lost combat jets during the four-day military clashes with Pakistan earlier this month. "The good part is that we were able to understand the tactical mistakes which we made; remedied, rectified and then implemented it again after two days. We flew all our jets again targeting at long range," he said. "Absolutely incorrect," Gen Chauhan said when asked about Pakistan's claim of shooting down six Indian jets during Operation Sindoor.
Mint
33 minutes ago
- Mint
Why does Trump keep saying Harvard teaches remedial math?
The White House has an expanding list of complaints about Harvard. Among them: a puzzling claim that Harvard kids can't do math. 'Did you see that, where the students can't add two and two and they go to Harvard?" President Trump said on May 23 during an Oval Office briefing. It isn't just Trump. The rumor that Harvard's admission standards have slipped so far they are teaching 'remedial math" has ricocheted across social media to Washington. Two federal agencies, in official correspondence, have echoed it, one even suggesting Harvard is teaching 'middle school math." Something doesn't compute. Harvard's lowest math course is college-level calculus, and their students? Overall, they are something of arithmetic aficionados. Most undergraduates have taken four years of high-school math. The median math SAT score for incoming Harvard students has been 750 or higher over the past decade, in at least the 95th percentile for students nationwide. 'The narrative…it just is so disconnected from what's happening in the classroom," said Brendan Kelly, Harvard's director of introductory math. How did this idea multiply? Tracing this requires a few twists and turns. Last fall, Harvard expanded its entry-level math offerings, with a new version of its introductory calculus course that meets five days a week instead of the usual four. Students are given a skills test to determine whether they need the extended course, Kelly said. The extra time each week is devoted to reviewing algebra skills to make the calculus more accessible, Kelly said. The No. 1 challenge for students in calculus is command of algebra because the knowledge has sometimes faded, he added. 'The extra support will target foundational skills in algebra, geometry, and quantitative reasoning that will help you unlock success," the class description says. The Harvard Crimson student newspaper wrote an article about the new offering in September, saying that it was 'aimed at rectifying a lack of foundational algebra skills," without noting that it is a calculus course. Fast forward to March 18, when Marc Porter Magee, the head of an educational advocacy organization, posted the Crimson article on X, writing: 'Meanwhile, for the first time in its history Harvard has been forced to offer a remedial algebra course to its undergrads." The post racked up 1.1 million views. And thus, a new idea, that Harvard teaches remedial math, entered the equation. (Remedial math is generally thought of as basic instruction necessary before students can take college-level courses.) The idea bounced around the internet and made its way to the Trump administration. The president has voiced it twice from the White House. While signing education-related executive orders on April 23, Trump declared from the Oval Office: 'I hear all about certain great schools and then we read where they're going to teach people basic math, math that we could all do very easily, but they can't do." Why, he asked, are people getting into places such as Harvard without being able to do math, while some students who are at the top of their class can't get into the best schools? Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who was with him, replied that it comes down to meritocracy, and that 'we have to look harder at those universities that aren't enforcing that." McMahon doubled down a few weeks later in a blistering letter sent to Harvard informing the university that it shouldn't apply for any future federal grants because none would be forthcoming. 'This year Harvard was forced to adopt an embarrassing 'remedial math' program for undergraduates," McMahon wrote in the May 5 letter. 'Why is it, we ask, that Harvard has to teach simple and basic mathematics, when it is supposedly so hard to get into this 'acclaimed university'? Who is getting in under such a low standard when others, with fabulous grades and a great understanding of the highest levels of mathematics, are being rejected?" Then, on Tuesday, Josh Gruenbaum, an official with the General Services Administration, circulated a letter to federal agencies telling them to review and potentially cancel any remaining Harvard contracts. The letter mentioned the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court case that banned affirmative action at Harvard and other universities. 'Harvard has shown no indication of reforming their admissions process—to the contrary, Harvard now has to offer a remedial math course, which has been described as 'middle school math,' for incoming freshmen," Gruenbaum wrote. Harvard's Kelly said that while the pandemic led to skills gaps among the university's students—a phenomenon that occurred across the U.S., according to national benchmark tests—they still have high math knowledge. About 20 students enrolled in the five-day-a-week section this semester, Kelly said. The section requires the same exams as the standard introductory calculus. 'It is not remedial math. It is a college-level calculus class," he said. Magee—who wrote the X post—suggested in an interview Friday that he was making a similar point, that the pandemic led to even universities with 3.6% acceptance rates seeing students with less solid math skills than in the past. Students who were freshmen at Harvard last fall would have been finishing eighth grade when the pandemic hit. As for how the Trump administration ran with the 'remedial math" concept he launched, Magee says: 'You don't get to choose what goes viral." Write to Sara Randazzo at
