Latest news with #JohnRowland
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Capitol Report: State budget negotiations, Rowland's pardon, bear hunt
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — This week on Capitol Report, the panel discusses the ongoing negotiations as the state creeps closer towards approving a budget and President Trump's recent pardon of former Gov. John Rowland. Plus, the panel speaks on Sen. Chris Murphy's recent criticism of his own party. As bear season continues, lawmakers debate a controlled bear hunt and other proposed legislation. Finally, the panel remembers the Hartford Whalers, as 50 years have gone by since the team first took the ice in 1975. Watch the full video in the player above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Really happy' and unsurprised: Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland's wife on his pardon by Trump
HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — The Connecticut political world has been buzzing since hearing the news that former Gov. John Rowland was pardoned by President Donald Trump. He was once a rising political star who suffered a huge fall from grace, and we're learning how Rowland got word of the pardon. Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland pardoned by President Donald Trump Rowland served from 1995 until 2004 when he was convicted in a corruption scandal, for accepting gifts and favors from state contractors. Then, in 2014, trouble came knocking again and he was convicted of hiding political campaign work and payments. The head of the Connecticut Republican Party told Dennis House on 'This Week In Connecticut' he's happy with the news. 'The word had been out that an application had been made to the Department of Justice and the White House and the President has been issuing pardons,' Ben Proto, chairman of the Connecticut GOP, said. Rowland in a statement says he's humbled and appreciates the pardon. News 8 spoke with his wife Patricia Thursday, she did not want to talk on camera but told us that they were 'really happy' the pardon came through and that it wasn't a surprise. 'We got an e-mail from the White House, that's how we found out,' Patricia Rowland said. The prosecutor who put him behind bars said on 'This Week in Connecticut' that the pardon doesn't pardon away the facts of a case. 'I don't know how John Rowland is viewed, all I know what he did and what a jury convicted him of doing,' Chris Mattei, the prosecutor, said. 'The jury convicted him of these very serious felonies.' 'Justice was finally done…we've waited a long time for justice,' Patricia said. Rowland could run for governor again if he wanted with the new pardon. But, most people close to Rowland say he is done with politics, wanting to enjoy time with his grandchildren. Keep in mind a pardon does not erase the conviction or the pardon, that follows the former governor forever. Watch the full story in the player above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump pardons include disgraced former Conn. Gov. John Rowland
Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, forced out of office in a 2004 corruption scandal and jailed twice on federal charges, was among those pardoned by Trump on Wednesday. 'I am very humbled and appreciative,' the 67-year-old Republican told WTNH-TV in a statement. 'I have been blessed with a wonderful family and friends that have been through a great deal over the years. This is a wonderful final resolution.' The former politician was one of seven people granted clemency Wednesday — including tax-evading, fraudster reality TV stars Julie and Todd Chrisley and former New York Congressman Michael Grimm, a Staten Island representative who served seven months in prison, also for tax evasion. Rowland served two terms in the Connecticut State Legislature and three in the U.S. House of Representatives before winning the governorship in 1994. He was heralded as the country's youngest governor when elected at age 37, then became the first Connecticut governor in 200 years to win three four-year terms. Ten years after that first victory, however, Rowland logged another milestone: the first sitting governor in Connecticut to be served with a subpoena, amid a federal corruption investigation. The political prodigy resigned at age 47, during his third term, to avoid possible impeachment after admitting he had accepted gifts and favors from state contractors. He pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to steal honest services and was sentenced to federal prison for a year and a day, serving 10 months before being released to four months of house arrest in February 2006. Post-prison, he refashioned himself into a popular AM radio commentator. A decade later, Rowland was again before a judge, this time convicted by a New Haven federal jury of conspiracy and falsifying records to hide illegal payments he'd received for working on a political campaign. He was sentenced to 30 months, or 2½ years, behind bars. His pardon ignited a sense of betrayal on both sides of the political aisle. 'The public trust has to be upheld,' retired FBI supervisor Mike Clark, later a Republican on the Farmington Town Council, told the Connecticut Mirror. 'Rowland betrayed that trust several times.' 'John Rowland left an indelible stain on our state and its government,' former state Rep. Michael Lawlor, a Democratic attorney who served on the committee seeking Rowland's impeachment in 2004, told The Hartford Courant. 'Donald Trump is the least credible person in the country to remove it.' With News Wire Services
Hamilton Spectator
6 days ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Ex-Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, who resigned amid a corruption scandal, pardoned by Trump
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, whose promising political career was upended by a corruption scandal and two federal prison stints, has been pardoned by President Donald Trump. The Republican governor, who served from 1995 until 2004, was among a number of prominent figures the Republican president granted clemency Wednesday, including former New York Congressman Michael Grimm , also a Republican, and reality TV stars Julie and Todd Chrisley . A White House official confirmed the pardon but spoke only on background to discuss matters that have not yet been made public. 'I am very humbled and deeply appreciative,' Rowland said in a statement to WTNH and other news outlets in Connecticut. 'This is a wonderful final resolution.' Once the nation's youngest governor, Rowland was elected three times to the state's highest office before resigning at the age of 47 amid a federal corruption investigation into gifts and favors that he accepted from state contractors and a growing move by state legislators to impeach him from office. Rowland served 10 months in a federal prison camp after pleading guilty in 2004 to one count of conspiracy to steal honest services. It was a stunning fall from grace for a man once considered a rising star in national Republican politics. The Waterbury native served three terms in Congress, was chairman of the national Republican Governors Association and a friend of former President George H.W. Bush. He was elected governor in 1994 at the age of 37. After finishing his prison sentence, Rowland found new life as a popular AM radio commentator. But in 2014 he was convicted of conspiring to hide his work on political campaigns and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison. ___ Associated Press reporter Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Ex-Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, who resigned amid a corruption scandal, pardoned by Trump
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, whose promising political career was upended by a corruption scandal and two federal prison stints, has been pardoned by President Donald Trump. The Republican governor, who served from 1995 until 2004, was among a number of prominent figures the Republican president granted clemency Wednesday, including former New York Congressman Michael Grimm, also a Republican, and reality TV stars Julie and Todd Chrisley. A White House official confirmed the pardon but spoke only on background to discuss matters that have not yet been made public. 'I am very humbled and deeply appreciative,' Rowland said in a statement to WTNH and other news outlets in Connecticut. 'This is a wonderful final resolution.' Once the nation's youngest governor, Rowland was elected three times to the state's highest office before resigning at the age of 47 amid a federal corruption investigation into gifts and favors that he accepted from state contractors and a growing move by state legislators to impeach him from office. Rowland served 10 months in a federal prison camp after pleading guilty in 2004 to one count of conspiracy to steal honest services. It was a stunning fall from grace for a man once considered a rising star in national Republican politics. The Waterbury native served three terms in Congress, was chairman of the national Republican Governors Association and a friend of former President George H.W. Bush. He was elected governor in 1994 at the age of 37. After finishing his prison sentence, Rowland found new life as a popular AM radio commentator. But in 2014 he was convicted of conspiring to hide his work on political campaigns and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison. ___ Associated Press reporter Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.
