Latest news with #commutation
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Marjorie Taylor Greene asks Trump to commute George Santos' prison sentence
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wants President Donald Trump to commute the prison sentence of her disgraced former colleague George Santos, who's been locked up less than two weeks. Santos was sentenced to 87 months in prison for committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in April. He checked into New Jersey's Federal Correctional Fairton, located about 140 miles from Manhattan, on July 25. In her petition to the Office of the U.S. Pardon Attorney, Greene asks for Trump to consider setting the former representative from Queens free sooner than later. 'As a Member of Congress, I worked with Mr. Santos on many issues and can attest to his willingness and dedication to serve the people of New York who elected him to office,' Greene wrote. She conceded that Santos should be punished for his crimes, but believes his 7-year sentence is too severe. 'While his crimes warrant punishment, many of my colleagues who I've serve with have committed far worse offenses than Mr. Santos yet have faced zero criminal charges,' she claimed without offering examples. After lying about nearly all of his academic and professional qualifications to get elected to Congress in 2022, Santos was charged with crimes including a scheme to steal financial information from campaign contributors, then repeatedly charging those accounts without permission. He was expelled from the House of Representatives in December 2023. Greene wrote in her letter that commuting Santos' sentence would be an acknowledgement by the President that Santos had committed crimes, while also allowing him the opportunity to serve his community as a free man. Greene didn't specify when she believes Santos should be released. She concluded her request by using a term often used by the President in social media posts. 'Thank you for your attention to this matter,' Greene wrote. Santos complained in the days leading to his imprisonment that his pardon requests were not getting the President's attention. Trump has used his clemency power to excuse more than 1,500 criminals convicted on the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and has not ruled out pardoning high-profile sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, but he hasn't showed an interest in working with Santos. Santos surrendered to prison authorities after bidding a dramatic adieu to supporters. 'Well, darlings… The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed,' he wrote on X before going to prison.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Marjorie Taylor Greene asks Trump to commute George Santos' prison sentence
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wants President Donald Trump to commute the prison sentence of her disgraced former colleague George Santos, who's been locked up less than two weeks. Santos was sentenced to 87 months in prison for committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in April. He checked into New Jersey's Federal Correctional Fairton, located about 140 miles from Manhattan, on July 25. In her petition to the Office of the U.S. Pardon Attorney, Greene asks for Trump to consider setting the former representative from Queens free sooner than later. 'As a Member of Congress, I worked with Mr. Santos on many issues and can attest to his willingness and dedication to serve the people of New York who elected him to office,' Greene wrote. She conceded that Santos should be punished for his crimes, but believes his 7-year sentence is too severe. 'While his crimes warrant punishment, many of my colleagues who I've serve with have committed far worse offenses than Mr. Santos yet have faced zero criminal charges,' she claimed without offering examples. After lying about nearly all of his academic and professional qualifications to get elected to Congress in 2022, Santos was charged with crimes including a scheme to steal financial information from campaign contributors, then repeatedly charging those accounts without permission. He was expelled from the House of Representatives in December 2023. Greene wrote in her letter that commuting Santos' sentence would be an acknowledgement by the President that Santos had committed crimes, while also allowing him the opportunity to serve his community as a free man. Greene didn't specify when she believes Santos should be released. She concluded her request by using a term often used by the President in social media posts. 'Thank you for your attention to this matter,' Greene wrote. Santos complained in the days leading to his imprisonment that his pardon requests were not getting the President's attention. Trump has used his clemency power to excuse more than 1,500 criminals convicted on the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and has not ruled out pardoning high-profile sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, but he hasn't showed an interest in working with Santos. Santos surrendered to prison authorities after bidding a dramatic adieu to supporters. 'Well, darlings… The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed,' he wrote on X before going to prison.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
MTG urges Donald Trump to commute George Santos' prison sentence
Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is calling on the Trump administration to commute the sentence of former Congressman George Santos, who was sentenced to seven years in prison earlier this year after pleading guilty to wire fraud and identity theft. 'George Santos has taken responsibility,' Greene wrote on X, sharing a letter she sent to the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney. 'He's shown remorse. It's time to correct this injustice.' 'I wholeheartedly believe in justice and the rule of the law, and I understand the gravity of such actions,' the letter reads. 'However, I believe a seven-year sentence for such campaign-related matters for an individual with no prior criminal record extends far beyond what is warranted.' Greene claimed Santos, who has sold Cameo videos speaking to fans and hosted a podcast playing on his reputation called Pants on Fire, was 'sincerely remorseful and has accepted full responsibility for his actions.' In April, Santos was sentenced to 87 months in prison for wire fraud and identity theft after pleading guilty last year and agreeing to nearly $374,000 in restitution payments. The following month, the former New York representative, who prosecutors accused of pocketing thousands of dollars in donor funds, appealed to the president for a full pardon. 'Previously, I was not entertaining a pardon because I didn't know what my judgment would be. Now, I am in the process of filling an application to a pardon for the president. I'll take a commutation, a clemency, whatever the president is willing to give me,' Santos said in an interview with Piers Morgan. 'I do believe this is an unfair judgment handed down to me,' he added. 'There was a lot of politicization over the process.' Santos, 37, is now in custody at a federal prison in Fairton, New Jersey. He was expelled from Congress in December 2023, following the release of a damning ethics report. He shared a goodbye post on X before entering prison thanking his allies and critics alike. 'Well, darlings…The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed,' he wrote. 'From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news what a ride it's been! Was it messy? Always. Glamorous? Occasionally. Honest? I tried… most days.' Santos was charged with 23 felony counts for three alleged schemes to use donor money and government assistance funds to enrich himself while running for Congress. He initially pleaded not guilty to the charges. The Republican, who was elected in 2022, also grabbed headlines for exaggerating details about his education and work experience, as well as his mother's whereabouts during 9/11 and his Jewish heritage. Greene has sought presidential intervention for controversial figures before. In May, she asked the president to pardon Derek Chauvin, the then-Minneapolis police officer who murdered George Floyd in a widely seen 2020 incident that set off national protests.
Fox News
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
'Should be prosecuted': House Republicans zero in on Biden autopen pardons after bombshell report
House Republicans are calling for more scrutiny on the roughly 1,500 commutation orders signed by President Joe Biden toward the end of his term after revelations that an autopen was used for a significant number of them. "Americans deserve accountability of their leaders. If an autopen was used to pardon hundreds of people, thousands of people, including the president's son, who made that decision? Was it Joe Biden? Or was it some staffer that used an autopen?" Ways & Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., said in a brief interview with Fox News Digital. The New York Times reported earlier this month that autopen signatures were used on clemency orders in the last few months of Biden's White House tenure. Biden told the outlet he made "every decision," and the report details a meticulous process from Biden making his decision to that decision being recorded by aides and passed through a chain of email communication – suggesting the then-president had final signoff. But the report notes, "The Times has not seen the full extent of the emails, so it is impossible to capture the totality of information they contain or what else they might show about Mr. Biden's involvement in the pardon and clemency decisions." Rep. Mark Messmer, R-Ind., suggested pardon decisions carried out in the late hours of the day should be looked at in particular. "I think we need to highly scrutinize the use of autopen signatures that were initiated at 10.45 p.m., well beyond the president's normal day of cognitive activity, need to be brought into question," Messmer said. The report noted one instance where the final word on a particular set of clemency orders was sent just after 10:30 p.m. The Times had reported in July 2024, before he dropped out of the presidential race, that Biden said he would stop scheduling events after 8 p.m. due to the need for sleep. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, argued lawmakers need more information on who was in control of those signatures for public trust. "What people want is accountability. They want to know that what was done in the name of our president who was elected, that he actually bears responsibility for that," Gill said. Another lawmaker suggested courts should even look at nullification. "Maybe some of the pardons and things like that can be rolled back," Rep. John McGuire, R-Va., said. "We'll leave it to the courts to figure that out." Rep. Andrew Cylde, R-Ga., went a step further: "That has to be corrected. It has to be investigated. And those people, really, in my opinion, should be prosecuted for stepping outside the bounds of the Constitution." The House Oversight Committee, led by Chair James Comer, R-Ky., is already investigating the Biden administration's use of autopen and whether former top White House aides concealed evidence of the then-president's mental decline. Ex-White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain is the latest person expected to appear before House investigators, with a voluntary transcribed interview scheduled for Thursday morning. Democratic allies of Biden have blasted the probe as a political spectacle rather than an honest fact-finding mission. But all the Republican lawmakers who spoke with Fox News Digital argued to at least some extent that Americans want accountability, though some suggested it would be beneficial to focus efforts on the future. "I have to balance my thoughts on this. I think that, you know, it's good to know what happened, to keep it from happening…but on the other hand, I really want to be focused on the future," said Rep. Troy Downing, R-Mont. "But I will tell you, the speculation – although I obviously don't know 100% what's true or not – I think the speculation is very probable, just seeing who Biden was at the end of his tenure and knowing that that didn't happen overnight." Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, vice chair of the House GOP Conference, told Fox News Digital, "As far as the previous administration, what's done is done, but it's also good to highlight to the American people, okay, you were in some cases lied to." Notably, autopen is a standard and legal practice that's been used by officials in many past cases, including by President Donald Trump. House investigators are looking into whether Biden really made the final sign-off himself on key decisions, however. The office of former president Joe Biden was contacted for comment.
Al Jazeera
30-05-2025
- General
- Al Jazeera
From Hunter to Hoover: How clemency became a circus
The United States pardon system has been developing a bad name in recent months. It is an area where Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution gives the president essentially boundless authority: 'The President shall … have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.' Normally, though, aware of the controversial nature of unilaterally declaring that someone facing criminal charges should be freed, the president exercises this authority in the waning days of a term – there are 10 weeks after a November presidential election and the new president's inauguration in January, when the incumbent has either been voted out, or is headed into retirement. Either way, there are no re-election concerns. This is significant because victims are often upset when a lengthy legal process is erased by a stroke of the White House pen. President Joe Biden followed this pattern, issuing more commutations in his final days than any other chief executive in history. Consistent with his Catholic faith, he almost cleared federal death row, commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 condemned prisoners. But he courted the most dissent when he annulled the convictions of his son Hunter, before preemptively pardoning other family members for imagined offences for which they would likely never have faced trial. It was all tinged with nepotism, using his constitutional power for those close to him. On his heels came President Donald Trump. As with so many of his actions in his first 100 days, Trump was acting as if he were already running out of time. He had barely taken the oath of office before he issued 1,600 pardons to those said to be guilty of insurrection in the often-violent storming of the Capitol in 2021. Sure enough, this provoked outrage among some and was characterised by the chief of the Capitol Police as a 'slap in the face' to all his officers. Trump has since continued his spate of pardons. Some are fairly predictable: 21 of his recent grants concerned the FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances) Act, a law that prohibits violence, intimidation, and interference with individuals seeking or providing reproductive health services – generally, then, people picketing abortion clinics. Here, he was courting the anti-abortion rights wing of MAGA. White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement that Trump is 'always pleased to give well-deserving Americans a second chance, especially those who have been unfairly targeted and overly prosecuted by an unjust justice system'. As a principle, this is fair enough, but normally there must be some evidence of remorse and rehabilitation. This week, in contrast, he pardoned Scott Jenkins, a longtime supporter and former Sheriff who had been found guilty in 2024 of accepting more than $75,000 in bribes in exchange for making several businessmen into official law enforcement agents. 'Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL,' Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social network. Yet Jenkins had merely been dragged through the US trial system, like millions of others, and he had not even turned himself in to start his sentence. Then there was the Reality TV couple, Todd and Julie Chrisley, convicted in 2022 for defrauding banks of more than $36m by submitting false bank statements and other records. They spent their ill-gotten gains on luxury cars and travel, and it is difficult to see what they did to merit special treatment. Which brings us to the latest case, that of Larry Hoover, the notorious founder of the Chicago Gangster Disciples, convicted of ordering the murder of a rival, along with a laundry list of other offences. Prosecutors did not even bother to bring many cases to trial. Indeed, at a hearing last year, a judge asked one of Hoover's lawyers: 'How many other murders is he responsible for?' Trump commuted his federal sentence, which is unlikely to achieve much more than to transfer him to the less pleasant Illinois prison, where he must serve 200 years on a state murder conviction. What does this achieve, and what was the president's motive for doing it? One particularly odd element of these pardons is that CBS News reports that many of the beneficiaries had not even made a formal application. Trump just reached out and acted on his own. In some instances, he seems to have been relying on what he saw on television. He has said he is considering clemency for those convicted in the 2020 conspiracy to kidnap Michigan's Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer and overthrow the state government. 'I did watch the trial,' he said. 'It looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job…' Even if it is currently sometimes corrupt, or simply arbitrary, I would not abolish the president's prerogative of mercy. I am in favour of considering second chances in all cases, for as a society we are much too punitive. But if citizens are to maintain any sense of respect for the judicial system, there should be a degree of consistency. Indeed, due process means that there is a process, and it should be followed. I filed a compelling 76,000 word clemency petition in the case of Aafia Siddiqui before Christmas, which Biden dismissed on January 20 without addressing any of the grounds – her innocence, the CIA's abduction of his children, the fact that she had been tortured in US custody, and the sexual abuse she faces in prison today. Then, this week, my octogenarian former death row client, Clarence Smith, passed away in federal prison. He had been denied compassionate release even though he was terminally ill, was again patently innocent and had proved himself to be a model prisoner: He had, in his forty-one years in the penitentiary, only been given one disciplinary punishment, for the heinous offence of making his prison bed before being told to do so. Let us therefore keep an eye on how the president's immense power is used (or abused), and perhaps consider imposing some rules of transparency upon him. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.
