Trump's Pardons Are Part Of Remaking DOJ

Forbes

a day ago

Donald Trump has not been shy about his approach to pardons. In some cases, it reflects his ... More makeover of the Department of Justice.
In 2025, President Donald Trump issued a series of high-profile pardons and commutations, notably surpassing his previous clemency record (143 pardons and 85 commutations). A significant action was the mass pardon on January 20, 2025, for approximately 1,500 individuals convicted in connection with the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack. This included full pardons for leaders of extremist groups such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.
Other notable clemency recipients included Ross Ulbricht, founder of the Silk Road dark web marketplace, who received a full and unconditional pardon; 23 anti-abortion activists convicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act; former New York Congressman Michael Grimm and former Connecticut Governor John Rowland. Grimm and Rowland were pardoned in May.
Critics have raised concerns that these actions may undermine the justice system and that these pardons are the result of Trump insiders simply paying those close to the president for access for a commutation or pardon. However, Trump's DOJ issued new guidance on enforcement, that was critical of past 'over broad and unchecked corporate and white-collar enforcement [that]
Government prosecutors are not going to want to bring a case that Trump may toss with a commutation or pardon. While the big government shakeup being experienced in the U.S. continues, pardons and commutations seem to be an almost daily part of the Trump administration.
Trump appointed Alice Johnson, herself the recipient of a Trump pardon in his first term, as Pardon Czar and her focus has been on those who received long sentences that now seem draconian. As was pointed out in a Washington Post piece about Johnson's work, she looks closer to what prison personnel have to say about someone seeking a pardon over the objections of US prosecutors. In some cases, Trump's pardons come without the need to talk to prison officials as pardons are being given to those who have not even seen the inside of a prison.
There is an old adage that many prisoners will state that they were or are wrongly imprisoned. In fact, in my business, many tell me about over prosecutions that led them to prison. I have heard the line, 'You've probably heard this before, but I didn't do it.' Why would someone admit to a crime they did not commit? In our justice system it happens everyday because of something called the Trial Penalty.
The federal trial penalty refers to the significantly harsher sentences defendants face if they reject a plea deal and choose to go to trial. This penalty stems from the belief that defendants who go to trial are seen as unapologetic about their behavior, leading to prosecutors to seek longer sentences. As a result, many defendants plead guilty to avoid the risk of a much more severe punishment. However, the primary way to properly preserve one's rights to an appeal is to go to trial. It is an old problem that many have just accepted as a way the system works.
Kay Rogers currently has a pending pardon application. Rogers, a former Butler county Ohio Auditor (Republican), who went to prison for 24 months for a bank loan that the bank says she does not even owe, has been asking for someone to look at her case. Now, out of prison for many years and off of supervised release, Rogers sees Trump as a possible way to clear her name and save her home. 'I pled guilty,' Rogers said in an interview, 'but I was a single mother with 6 kids and going to trial just was something I could not afford.'
Rogers wants the pardon because even though the bank says she had nothing to do with the fraud that sent her to prison, the US government still wants to collect restitution. 'They have a lien on my home,' Rogers told me in an interview, 'and I have no idea where this money they want from me would even go.' Other women who believe they were overcharged in their crimes have made repeated requests to have their cases reviewed for pardons.
Aaron Zahn, former CEO of the Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA), was convicted in March 2024 of conspiracy to embezzle federal property and wire fraud for allegedly orchestrating a $40 million payout linked to JEA's privatization. Prosecutors claimed this scheme would have cost Jacksonville taxpayers hundreds of millions, but Zahn's defense argued no such scheme existed. Zahn is currently appealing his 4-year sentence, asserting he was wrongly prosecuted for defrauding a city of property that never existed. Zahn and JEA's CFO, Ryan Wannemacher, were tried together, with Wannemacher being found not guilty.
Before Zahn became CEO, JEA faced major financial challenges, including declining sales and a poor power contract. Privatization was discussed, but political resistance hindered progress. Zahn, brought in to drive change, pushed for privatization and was involved in the creation of a strategic plan that included the possibility of selling JEA. Despite the suspension of the Performance Unit Plan (PUP), a leaked memo exaggerating its costs led to public outrage, Zahn's termination, and an investigation.
Zahn's Garrity statement, pertaining to statements given under immunity during an internal investigation, was used in his prosecution. Such statements are typically protected from being used against an individual in criminal cases, raising concerns about legal precedent, something Zahn's is contesting in his appeal.
Zahn is currently imprisoned at FCI Edgefield satellite camp.
Some have criticized the Trump administration and the pardons given, but the pardon and commutation system has been inconsistent in doling out fairness in the past. Those with access have always been moved to the top for presidential consideration and Alice Johnson, who definitely deserved her pardon, would likely be still in prison had it not been for advocates, namely Kim Kardashian, who personally pled with Trump for her release.
Biden, and even Trump in his first term, gave commutations sparingly throughout their terms until it came to the last days of the administration. Now, there is an ongoing process of review and action that is leading to action, and that is a refreshing change.