"White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said last month that "a whole team of qualified lawyers ... look at every single pardon request" that makes its way to Trump's desk. She added that the president was most focused on those defendants "over-prosecuted" under the former DOJ. "President Trump has exercised his constitutional authority to issue pardons and commutations for a variety of individuals," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement provided to Axios, saying "the only pardons anyone should be critical of" were those signed by former President Biden."
"The latest: Cuellar and his wife were indicted last year and accused of taking nearly $600,000 in bribes froman Azerbaijani government-controlled oil company and a Mexican bank. Trump issued a pardon for the couple on Wednesday. "I want to thank President Trump for his tremendous leadership and for taking the time to look at the facts," Cuellar replied in a social media post."
"Trump signed a commutation to immediately release former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from prison in October. Santos was sentenced to more than seven years in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges. He was expelled from Congress in a historic vote some two years ago. In announcing Santos' commutation, Trump alleged that Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) had committed "far worse" misdeeds than Santos, saying, "at least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!""
Trump has issued pardons and commutations to several former lawmakers and allies from both parties accused or convicted of misconduct. White House officials say a team of lawyers reviews pardon requests and that the president prioritizes defendants deemed over-prosecuted by the prior DOJ. A spokesperson framed presidential clemency as constitutional authority and compared it favorably to pardons signed by the previous administration. Recent clemencies include a pardon for Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife after bribery indictments, and a commutation that freed former Rep. George Santos, who had pleaded guilty to fraud and identity-theft charges; Cuellar publicly thanked the president.
Read at Axios
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