Latest news with #Clemency
Forbes
4 days ago
- Politics
- Forbes
Dems Push Back On Trump Pardons With Restitution Argument
Whether one supports Donald J. Trump or not, his approach as president is notably different, especially when it comes to pardons and commutations. In his first term, Trump issued 143 pardons and 38 commutations, far fewer than Barack Obama. However, in his second term, by June 2025, he had granted clemency to over 1,500 individuals, including those convicted for the January 6th Capitol attack. What stands out is not the number, but the frequency of these pardons, which include both white-collar and drug-related offenses. Alice Johnson, appointed as Pardon Czar, plays a significant role in this process, focusing on individual cases and rehabilitation over political connections. Trump's pardons have sparked criticism from Democrats, particularly regarding the loss of restitution payments. Critics argue that Trump's pardons, often granted to political allies and high-profile individuals, have harmed victims by wiping out restitution payments that would have otherwise gone to them or the government. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) highlighted several examples, including the case of Todd and Julie Chrisley, claiming that Trump's mass pardons, including those for January 6th felons, canceled $1.3 billion in restitution and fines owed to victims and taxpayers. However, a closer examination of the restitution process reveals that a significant portion of restitution is never paid, and many of the amounts owed do not accurately reflect the financial losses caused by the crimes. Despite the political outcry, the actual impact of pardons on restitution is overstated, as the enforcement of restitution payments is typically limited, with many offenders unable to pay the full amount. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, financial loss plays a crucial role in determining prison sentences for crimes like fraud, theft, and embezzlement. The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual assigns offense levels based on the amount of financial loss caused by the defendant. Larger losses result in higher offense levels and, consequently, longer sentences. For instance, a defendant who causes a loss of over $25 million will likely face a significantly harsher sentence than one responsible for a much smaller loss. Additionally, financial loss affects restitution or forfeiture amounts that defendants must pay after serving their sentences. These amounts are often determined at sentencing but can be unclear in their calculation. In the case of high-profile cases like FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was ordered to pay $11 billion in forfeiture, or former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, who faced $452 million in restitution, the amounts are often unrealistic, as the defendants may never be able to repay such large sums. Restitution Payback Is Low, Very Low Research published by George Washington Law School in their report "Debunking Criminal Restitution" reveals that 82% of felony defendants at the state level and about 76% at the federal level are classified as indigent. As a result, many individuals facing restitution lack the financial ability to repay, and those who might are often burdened by legal fees and lost income due to criminal proceedings. Additionally, the barriers individuals face after being released from prison create a cycle of debt that is nearly impossible to break, further hindering their ability to repay restitution. According to the Government Accountability Office, US Attorneys Offices (USAO) collected $2.95 billion in restitution debt in fiscal years 2014 through 2016. However, at the end of fiscal year 2016, $110 billion in previously ordered restitution remained outstanding, and USAOs identified $100 billion of that outstanding debt as uncollectible due to offenders' inability to pay. Corporate criminal restitution make up a large amount of what is collected, not individuals. Department of Justice's Fraud Section reported a significant increase in corporate restitution in 2024. The section resolved 13 corporate cases, resulting in over $2.3 billion in total monetary recoveries, a 300% increase from the previous year. These cases primarily involved healthcare fraud, securities violations, and procurement fraud. Whereas corporations can move on with a large restitution payment after fraudulent activities, individuals, who face significant incarceration time, cannot. The Department of Justice's own website even notes that recovery of full restitution is unlikely, noting on its website, 'While defendants may make partial payments toward the full restitution owed, it is rare that defendants are able to fully pay the entire restitution amount owed.' Some have pegged the recovery at around 2% of the amounts due. Bill Clinton signed the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA) into law on April 24, 1996. The MVRA mandated that federal courts require convicted offenders to pay restitution to their victims, ensuring compensation for financial losses resulting from certain crimes. The MVRA removed judicial discretion, meaning judges could no longer consider a defendant's ability to pay when determining restitution. As a result, prosecutors often seek maximum restitution, aiming for longer sentences with little expectation of recovery. Offenders end up in lifelong debt, while victims face the false hope of receiving compensation for their losses. That Democrats are now using the loss of restitution dollars as a push back on Trump seems a bit disingenuous since it was their party who pushed for MVRA. It was also Clinton who signed into law the 1994 Crime Bill, which led to a dramatic increase in prison population through longer prison terms around the country. Although it is housed in the DOJ's Civil Division, the Financial Litigation Unit's (FLU) primary function is 'to litigate and enforce the collection of criminal and civil debts owed to the United States, including criminal restitution . . . .' The FLU has the power to do so for twenty years from the filing of a judgement, on top of any period of incarceration served. For those owing restitution, it amounts to a life sentence. For many exiting prison, they are on Supervised Release for up to 5 years where they must report a financial statement each month and are required to pay toward their restitution. FLU monitors these assets, often seeking to place liens on assets such as homes and real estate. They also monitor refunds on tax returns and even garnish up to 25% of social security payments. Dr. Topeka Sam did a prison term for drugs and received a pardon from Trump in 2020. She now heads Ladies of Hope Ministries and has been a tireless advocate for those in prison and those returning to society. Dr. Sam also has taken up the cause of the burden that restitution leaves on those trying to move on with their lives. When I spoke to Dr. Sam, she said it clearly, 'We've turned too many people into lifelong justice-involved individuals - not because they continue to break the law, but because of the weight of restitution debt that never goes away. Bankruptcy can't erase it. The only true pathway to relief is a presidential pardon or remission of fines fees and restitution. And when that happens, it's not just about walking out of prison, it's about being restored, being given a real second chance at life." Tanya Pierce served three years for conspiracy to defraud banks during the mortgage crisis after going to trial. She said that her reason for going to trial was that she believed the amount of loss to the banks was approximately $25,000. In addition to her sentence, she was ordered to pay $2.5 million in restitution, an amount prosecutors said defined her 'intent' to steal more. Now free from prison and supervised release, she seeks legislative relief, hoping to find a way to escape the lifelong debt she cannot repay. Pierce told me, 'I've been told that my alleged bank victims have never received one dollar of the small amount that I have been able to pay. The FLU is an organization that needs to be shut down and I'm shocked that Trump's DOGE initiative did not do that.' Pierce is pushing for some sort of amnesty for many who are under unrealistic restitution orders. Kay Rogers never received any money from the alleged fraud she pled guilty to but felt she had to take a plea to move on with her life. 'The government put me in prison for 2 years and then they said I owed $5 million to a bank,' Rogers told me, 'now I have a piece of paper from the bank that says I don't owe them a thing but I still have to pay restitution." Rogers has a lien on her modest home and her social security is garnished. Todd Ficeto was once a high-flying investment banker but got involved with a con-man from Germany. Ficeto went to trial and was convicted, resulting in a 6-year prison sentence. Prior to his indictment, he paid over $9 million to avoid prosecution, which represented his entire net worth. Shortly thereafter he was indicted. 'I figured I could pay the money, and be able to move on with life since I believed, and still believe, I did nothing wrong.' Out of prison and now on supervised release, Ficeto has no means to pay his $240 million in restitution, a sum he says represents an amount so outrageous that there is no way to ever pay it back. His former partner, Florian Homm, is a fugitive, living in Germany giving financial advice to the public.
Daily Mail
06-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
The ONLY pardon Biden signed by hand was his most controversial... as Trump investigates autopen overuse
Joe Biden 's only hand-signed pardon during his final months in office was also his most controversial - his son, Hunter. The bombshell comes as Donald Trump ordered a sweeping investigation into Biden's use of an autopen to sign a huge number of presidential documents. Trump alleges the widespread reliance on the device that replicates a person's signature concealed Biden's 'serious cognitive decline' and amounted to a 'dangerous and unprecedented conspiracy.' Biden, battling an aggressive form of prostate cancer and facing mounting questions about his mental acuity throughout his time in the White House, granted clemency to more than 1,500 individuals in his final weeks in office. Biden's administration touted the figure as the largest single-day act of clemency in US history. But according to documents reviewed by the Department of Justice and White House officials, virtually all of those pardons were signed using the autopen. The one glaring exception was Biden's controversial hand-signed pardon of his son Hunter, shielding him from prosecution for any federal crimes committed between January 1, 2014, and December 1, 2024. For months, Biden had assured Americans he would not interfere in his son's legal woes but in December 2024, after Hunter pleaded guilty to felony gun charges and faced additional federal tax violations, Biden suddenly reversed course. 'From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department's decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,' Biden said in an emotional address. 'There has been an effort to break Hunter - who has been five-and-a-half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they've tried to break me - and there's no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough. 'I hope Americans will understand why a father - and a president- would come to this decision.' Aside from three felony gun offenses, the first son was also charged with federal tax crimes over his alleged failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. Special Counsel David Weiss, who led the probe into Hunter, blasted Biden's pardon as an affront to justice. In a report, Weiss excoriated Biden's public statement dismissing the yearslong investigation as 'selective' and 'infected by raw politics.' 'This statement is gratuitous and wrong,' Weiss wrote. 'Other presidents have pardoned family members, but none have used the occasion to malign public servants based solely on false accusations.' The pardon effectively ended Weiss's investigation, barring any further charges against Hunter Biden. Biden also issued pardons for his two brothers and his sister shortly before leaving office, hoping to shield them from potential prosecution under Trump, who had promised retribution during last year's campaign. Other pardon recipients included members of a congressional committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol. Now back in the White House, Trump has seized on the controversy, ordering Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House Counsel David Warrington to investigate Biden's use of the autopen. In a scathing memorandum, Trump stated: 'It has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden's aides abused the power of presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden's cognitive decline and assert Article II authority. 'This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history. The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden's signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts.' Trump's directive calls for a forensic review of every document signed during Biden's presidency. It includes everything from pardons, executive orders, judicial appointments and proclamations to determine which bore Biden's authentic signature and which were replicated by autopen. The autopen, though little-known to the public, has long been used by US presidents to manage the deluge of documents requiring a signature. The device can accurately replicate a signature, saving presidents precious time. The Justice Department, under Democratic and Republican administrations, has recognized the use of an autopen by presidents to sign legislation and issue pardons for decades - and even Trump himself acknowledges using it. 'Autopens to me are used when thousands of letters come in from young people all over the country and you want to get them back,' Trump said on Thursday. 'Biden's cognitive issues and apparent mental decline during his presidency were even 'worse' in private, and those closest to him 'tried to hide it' from the public,' Trump said in his statement. 'To do so, Biden's advisors during his years in office severely restricted his news conferences and media appearances, and they scripted his conversations with lawmakers, government officials, and donors, all to cover up his inability to discharge his duties.' Past presidents, including George W. Bush and Barack Obama, have employed the autopen in limited circumstances, such as signing routine letters or lower-level appointments. However, critics argue that Biden's reliance on the device was unprecedented. An exhaustive review by the Oversight Project found that nearly every document from Biden's presidency from 2021 to 2025 bore identical autopen signatures, except for the document announcing his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race. Biden's reliance on the autopen came as his public appearances diminished, with aides scripting his engagements, heavily curating his interactions with lawmakers, and significantly limiting press conferences. Behind the scenes, insiders claim Biden's inner circle - including family members - wielded disproportionate influence, raising fresh questions about who was truly making presidential decisions. Trump, while acknowledging he occasionally used the autopen himself, argues Biden's alleged overuse could nullify significant executive actions. 'Essentially, whoever used the autopen was the president,' Trump said during a press conference. 'That's wrong. It's illegal. It's so bad and it's so disrespectful to our country.' House Oversight Chairman James Comer has launched parallel inquiries, demanding testimony from Biden's former top aides including Mike Donilon, Anita Dunn, Ron Klain, Bruce Reed, and Steve Ricchetti, alleging they participated in a 'cover-up' of Biden's cognitive decline. Comer cited explosive allegations from CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson's book 'Original Sin,' which claimed 'five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board.' The committee has also issued subpoenas for Biden's physician Kevin O'Connor and several White House aides who reportedly helped shield Biden's true condition from public view. Republicans argue that if Biden's aides, not Biden himself, made key decisions, it could throw into question the validity of major executive actions including the pardons of his siblings, other family members, and members of the House committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot. Biden has lashed back at the accusations. 'Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn't is ridiculous and false,' Biden said in a statement. Biden's reliance on the autopen came as his public appearances diminished, with aides scripting his engagements, heavily curating his interactions with lawmakers, and significantly limiting press conferences. Behind the scenes, insiders claim Biden's inner circle - including family members - wielded disproportionate influence, raising fresh questions about who was truly making presidential decisions. He accused Trump and Congressional Republicans of creating a 'distraction' to divert attention from ongoing political battles, including a contentious tax bill moving through Congress. 'This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans,' Biden declared. 'They are working to push disastrous legislation that would cut essential programs like Medicaid and raise costs on American families.' In private, Biden's aides insist that autopen use was limited to routine matters, and that Biden personally reviewed major decisions. However, newly surfaced internal memos suggest that a handful of senior advisors controlled access to the president and directed autopen usage without always consulting him, raising further doubts about the authenticity of some presidential actions. The implications are enormous - if Trump's investigation finds that Biden's use of the autopen was improper, it could challenge the legitimacy of thousands of presidential decisions, from judicial appointments to sweeping regulatory changes. House Republicans are already signaling they may attempt to invalidate actions signed via autopen, raising constitutional questions that could land before the Supreme Court.
Daily Mail
03-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Trump admin opens bombshell investigation into aging Biden's final days in office and prolific use of autopen
Donald Trump's Department of Justice has reportedly ordered a shock investigation into whether Joe Biden 'was competent' when he gave out lame duck pardons of family members and death row inmates. In an email to staffers on Monday, DOJ pardon attorney Ed Martin said he has been directed to investigate clemency granted by Biden in the waning days of his presidency, including the December pardon of his troubled son Hunter. Martin, who was recently transferred out as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia for Jeannine Pirro, wrote that the investigation involves whether Biden 'was competent and whether others were taking advantage of him through use of AutoPen or other means.' An autopen is a device used to automatically affix a signature to a document. Trump and his supporters have made a variety of claims that Biden's use of the device while president invalidated his actions or suggested that he was not fully aware of these actions. It is not known whether Biden used autopen on pardons. In March, Trump declared his predecessor's last-minute pardons 'void, vacant and of no further force or effect' as he warned that members of the House committee investigating the January 6 riots can now face prosecution. The email stated that Martin's investigation is focused on preemptive pardons Biden issued to several members of his family and clemency that spared 37 federal inmates from the death penalty, converting their sentences to life in prison. Just before he relinquished the presidency to Trump on January 20, Biden pardoned five members of his family, saying he wanted to protect them from future politically motivated investigations. The pardons went to Biden's siblings James Biden, Frank Biden and Valerie Biden Owens as well as their spouses, John Owens and Sara Biden. Biden on December 1 pardoned his son Hunter Biden, who had pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges. Martin's email did not specify which pardons of Biden family members were being investigated. It also did not make clear who directed Martin to launch the investigation. has reached out to the White House and the Department of Justice for comment. The Constitution gives the president broad power to issue pardons to wipe away federal criminal convictions or commutations to modify sentences. Trump himself has made extensive use of executive clemency. For instance, he granted clemency on January 20 to all of the nearly 1,600 of his supporters who faced criminal charges in connection with January 6, 2021, which was a failed attempt to prevent congressional certification of Biden's 2020 election victory over Trump. Martin told reporters last month that he viewed the presidential pardon power as 'plenary,' meaning it is absolute. 'If you use the autopen for pardon power, I don't think that that's necessarily a problem,' Martin said during a May 13 press conference, adding that he still felt the Biden pardons warranted scrutiny. The investigation appears designed to use the Justice Department to amplify questions about Biden's health and mental acuity, a conversation that has intensified in recent weeks following his cancer diagnosis and a new book revealing Democratic concerns last year about Biden's condition. Questions have since arisen about whether Biden actually signed many of the orders under his administration amid his noticeable cognitive decline after it was revealed they were signed with an autopen. The mechanical device signs documents rather than an individual. It has been used by presidents and lawmakers for decades. The Oversight Project in March 'gathered every document we could find with Biden's signature over the course of his presidency'. 'All used the same autopen signature except for the announcement that the former President was dropping out of the race last year.' It went on to share two examples from documents that it claimed showed the use of the autopen including a document from August 2022 as well as one from December 2024 with what appear to be identical signatures. The group also posted an image of Biden's signature as a comparison from when he announced he was dropping out of the race. That image shows a slight variation from the other shared documents. also examined more than 25 Biden executive orders documented on the Federal Register's office between 2021 and 2025. It found the same signature on each. A separate examination of 25 Trump signatures on orders on the Federal Register's website from his first and second administrations also found the signatures were all the same. The Oversight Project now says investigators must determine 'who controlled the autopen and what checks there were in place' to determine whether Biden actually made any of the orders. Still, it questioned if that was something that could be determined in the 'correct legal process.' Biden, who is 82, last year dropped his reelection bid amid questions about his mental acuity after a disastrous presidential debate performance. Biden was the oldest person to serve as U.S. president, and Trump is the second oldest. The former president's closest aides have dismissed those concerns, saying Biden was fully capable of making important decisions. No evidence has emerged to suggest that Biden did not intend to issue the pardons. In addition, a Justice Department memo from 2005 found it was legitimate for a subordinate to use an autopen for the president's signature.
The Herald
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald
Trump: No requests to pardon Sean ‘Diddy' Combs, but will look at facts
Trump has made extensive use of his power to pardon or commute the sentences of people accused of or convicted of federal crimes, a break with tradition, as presidents normally wait until near the end of their terms before granting clemency. Trump, a Republican, said he had not seen or spoken to Combs in years. Combs could face life in prison if convicted on all counts. Also known throughout his career as Puff Daddy and P Diddy, Combs is known for turning artists including Notorious BIG and Mary J Blige into stars. In the process he elevated hip-hop in American culture and became a billionaire. The criminal charges filed last September and dozens of civil lawsuits accusing Combs of sexual abuse have left his reputation in tatters. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan alleged over two decades Combs coerced women to take part in drug-fuelled sexual performances known as 'freak-offs' with male sex workers. Two women have testified Combs raped them. His lawyers have acknowledged he was at times abusive in romantic relationships but argued the women who took part in 'freak-offs' did so consensually. Reuters
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
After Trump pardon, ex-boxer Charles Duke Tanner uses his second chance for criminal justice reform
'They gave me my whole life back,' Tanner told theGrio after President Trump's pardon czar Alice Johnson told him the life-altering news. When former professional boxer Charles Duke Tanner learned that President Donald Trump had issued him a pardon on May 28, he was completely shocked. 'Like in the boxing world, it was a punch that I didn't see, and you know, those are the ones that knock you out,' Tanner told theGrio days after the life-altering clemency. Tanner was convicted and sentenced to life in 2004 for a first-time drug offense. He'd been part of a drug trafficking ring and was caught by police after accepting 15 kilograms of fake cocaine that was part of a drug string. Despite having a perfect boxing record and great athletic promise, Tanner says his choices were made from a place of financial hardship after he'd gotten laid off from a boxing injury. That harsh life sentence he received reflected a larger imbalance in the War on Drugs, which frequently gave out extreme sentences to Black people in the drug game. After surviving the reality of prison life, Tanner received the news of his pardon from Alice Johnson, Trump's White House pardon czar. However, this wasn't their first time meeting: Johnson played an integral role in an earlier commutation he received from Trump in 2020. While the past commutation brought his sentence length down and let him go free from prison, this recent pardon from Trump has given him a completely fresh start. 'They gave me my whole life back,' said Tanner of Trump and Johnson. That includes being reunited with his 22-year-old son, Charles Tanner Jr. The pardon allows Tanner to better integrate into society as a law-abiding citizen and overcome financial and housing barriers that formerly incarcerated individuals often encounter due to their criminal record. Despite roadblocks, in the years since Tanner was released from prison in 2020, the former boxer has dedicated his life to service and ensuring that other Black men and women don't end up like he did 20 years ago. From his hometown of Gary, Indiana, to Las Vegas and Washington, D.C., Tanner has traveled across the country advocating for criminal justice reform and housing development in Black and disadvantaged communities. Tanner now works in investor relations at Impact Growth Capital, a social impact investment firm, and is working directly with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, to improve the housing and economic conditions for Black neighborhoods. That includes financial literacy and educational opportunities. 'Part of my rehabilitation on the inside was that I had to learn where I really came from…we really didn't have opportunities like most people do, and it's because we're caught up in a system that's holding us back,' explained Tanner, who released the book, 'Duke Got Life: A Boxer's Fight for Freedom and One Last Shot at Redemption,' last year. 'We can go to these neighborhoods and we can rebuild them… But if we go in and help rehabilitate the people, then we rehabilitate the neighborhood and the structure of the neighborhood. 'We need to do something to stop people from going [to prison] and by doing that, we have to attack housing, we have to attack education. We have to attack jobs, as well as the mental health, which is one of the main things that people who look like me didn't use to want to accept,' said Tanner. 'When we are challenging these things and come together…that's what's going to make this world great. And I believe that this administration is starting off on that path.' Tanner was one of a handful pardoned for a non-violent drug offense among the more than a dozen who received presidential pardons from Trump last week. Most were convicted of white-collar crimes like tax evasion and business fraud. Tanner told theGrio he would like to see Trump issue more pardons and commutations for first-time drug offenders like him, particularly in Black communities. 'The president needs to do more clemency and commute people's sentences to come home,' urged Tanner, who said he is personally helping potential clemency recipients by coordinating background checks. 'I'm writing [to them in] the prison and having them write me back to send me their progress report so I can see what they've been doing on the inside before I reach out to these advocates to promote [them],' he said. Tanner is also joining advocates in bringing more attention to the issue of supervised release and the need for reform. Individuals released from prison are often under the supervision of the government and are restricted in terms of who they can socialize with, where they can travel, and even where they live or work. Tanner recalled his own family being impacted by the strain of supervised release, in which his formerly incarcerated brother was unable to join him and their other siblings to honor their mother, who died in 2016, and release some of her ashes. 'His probation officer denied the visit and wouldn't allow me to be around him because I was on supervised release. During that time, I had been home for three years, never had a problem with the law, never had a dirty urine. Always continue to have a job and pay my taxes,' he recalled. 'It was one of the most heart-aching things,' said Tanner. 'I was doing all these things to help other people, help things, and they wouldn't even allow me to see my family.' He said he was comforted at the time by Johnson, Trump's now-pardon czar, whom he described as having a close personal relationship with. Johnson has faced pointed critiques by some analysts who say is in a tough position of doing meaningful work, under a controversial president. 'She is ordained to do this [work], and the prison prepared her to do what God ordained her to do, and we must give honor to her,' said Tanner. The newly pardoned advocate said he supports the Bipartisan Safer Supervision Act, backed by REFORM Alliance, which would make several reforms to the supervised release system. It would require courts to conduct individualized assessments for when supervision is necessary, incentivize early termination for supervision, and provide other rehabilitation options, rather than prison time, for those on supervised release who are found in possession of illicit substances. Had President Trump not pardoned him, Tanner said he would still be under supervised release for another five years. 'I came home from outside the prison [in 2020], but I've not been free,' he emphasized. 'That's a major thing, and people need to understand that.' More must-reads: Joy Reid warns Black community not to be fooled by Trump's recent pardons Trump provides coy response when asked if he would pardon Diddy Ketanji Brown Jackson gives stark warning after SCOTUS allows Trump to end migrant parole program
