Trump adds former NYPD commissioner, financier convicted in fraud schemes to pardon spree
President Trump's clemency philosophy is clearly go big or go home.
After pardoning ex-San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. and commuting the sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday, Trump turned around added some more high-profile people to the list. Former New York Police Department Commissioner Bernard Kerik and prominent financier Michael Milken are among those Trump pardoned Tuesday, while also bringing nonviolent drug offenders into the mix.
The White House statement announcing Trump's clemency decisions homes in on the positive things these convicted offenders have done. Trump highlights how Kerik "courageously led the New York Police Department’s heroic response to the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001," and how after receiving a 4-year sentence for tax fraud, became a "passionate advocate for criminal justice and prisoner reentry reform." Milken is similarly honored as "one of America's greatest financiers," and the statement characterizes his violations of U.S. securities laws as "innovative financing mechanisms."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump also highlights a few lesser-known convicts in his Tuesday clemency spree, namely nonviolent drug offenders Tynice Nichole Hall and Crystal Munoz. They were pardoned with support from Alice Johnson, another drug offender who Trump similarly pardoned in 2018 with backing from Kim Kardashian-West. Former George W. Bush official David Safavian and author Angela Stanton, both advocates for criminal justice reform, were also pardoned.
-
The environmental cost of GLP-1sThe explainer Producing the drugs is a dirty process
-
Greenland’s capital becomes ground zero for the country’s diplomatic straitsIN THE SPOTLIGHT A flurry of new consular activity in Nuuk shows how important Greenland has become to Europeans’ anxiety about American imperialism
-
‘This is something that happens all too often’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
-
US to send 200 troops to Nigeria to train armySpeed Read Trump has accused the West African government of failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks
-
Grand jury rejects charging 6 Democrats for ‘orders’ videoSpeed Read The jury refused to indict Democratic lawmakers for a video in which they urged military members to resist illegal orders
-
Judge rejects California’s ICE mask ban, OKs ID lawSpeed Read Federal law enforcement agents can wear masks but must display clear identification
-
Lawmakers say Epstein files implicate 6 more menSpeed Read The Trump department apparently blacked out the names of several people who should have been identified
