Don’t Be a ‘Disciple of the Donor Class:’ Ramaswamy Calls on Fellow Presidential Candidates to Commit to Pardoning Trump on Classified Records Charges

Political outsider and GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy is calling on all of his 2024 competitors — Republicans and Democrats — to commit to pardoning former President Donald Trump should he be convicted of the federal classified documents charges against him. 

On the same day Trump faced his arraignment in the 37-count indictment, Ramaswamy held a press conference from the same Miami courthouse where the former president was to briefly appear.  

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GOP Presidential Candidate Ramaswamy Files FOIA Request Seeking Biden Communications with Special Prosecutor in Trump Indictment

Ohio entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says his campaign has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to uncover communications between the White House, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Jack Smith, special prosecutor behind the latest indictment of former President Donald Trump. 

Ramaswamy plans to hold a press conference at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Miami, where Trump is scheduled to be arraigned on 37 counts related to his handling of classified documents. 

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GOP Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Says President Joe Biden Should Pardon Former President Donald Trump

Highly partisan Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is setting a “dangerous precedent” that will likely lead to more “politically targeted prosecutions,” GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy writes in a new op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal. 

If President Joe Biden wants to avoid this danger and truly unify the country, he will pardon his predecessor and potential challenger in 2024, Donald Trump. 

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Bipartisan Proposal Would Make Pennsylvania Pardon Recommendations Easier

A bill is re-emerging in Pennsylvania’s new State Senate session to end the requirement that pardon and commutation recommendations from the State Board of Pardons be unanimous. 

The five-member board comprises the lieutenant governor and the state attorney general as well as experts on corrections, victims’ rights, and mental health. Once the panel issues a recommendation for an inmate to receive a pardon or a commuted sentence, the governor reviews those determinations and decides whether to sign off on them. Historically, governors have tended to follow the board’s advice. 

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Commentary: If Michael Flynn Can’t Withdraw His Guilty Plea, Then President Trump Should Pardon Him

New documents appear to show that the FBI was intent on setting up former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn in a perjury trap to help keep the Justice Department’s then-ongoing investigation into President Donald Trump going in Jan. 2017 on false allegations he was a bought and paid for Russian agent that themselves were bought and paid for by the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign.

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Report: Trump Might Be Preparing Memorial Day Pardons for Military Members

by Evie Fordham   President Donald Trump might be preparing to pardon a handful of military members accused or convicted of war crimes, according to a Saturday report from The New York Times citing two unnamed officials. The paperwork required for such pardons was reportedly requested on an expedited timeline, meaning they could coincide with Memorial Day weekend, the officials said, according to The NYT. The report comes after Trump tweeted March 30 about the situation of a Navy SEAL awaiting trial for war crimes. Highly decorated Navy SEAL Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher is facing trial at the end of May for alleged war crimes including shooting unarmed civilians and killing an enemy captive. “In honor of his past service to our Country, Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher will soon be moved to less restrictive confinement while he awaits his day in court. Process should move quickly!” Trump wrote on Twitter. In honor of his past service to our Country, Navy Seal #EddieGallagher will soon be moved to less restrictive confinement while he awaits his day in court. Process should move quickly! @foxandfriends @RepRalphNorman — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 30, 2019 Trump also said in December 2018 he would be “reviewing the case” of a former…

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Environmentalists Target Oregon Ranchers Pardoned by Trump with Lawsuit

by Tim Pearce   Three environmental groups sued the federal government on Monday to block the renewal of a 10-year grazing permit for Oregon ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond, The Oregonian reports. Western Watersheds Project, the Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians filed suit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), arguing that renewing the Hammonds’ grazing permits violated federal regulations. The BLM and Interior secretary did not consider the Hammonds’ poor record, the environmental groups said according to The Oregonian. Dwight and his son Steven lost the grazing permit for their ranch in 2014. The Bureau of Land Management denied their application after the pair was convicted of arson in 2012, for which both served stints in prison and paid a fine of $400,000. President Donald Trump issued a full pardon of the Hammonds in July 2018, springing them from a prison sentence many saw as unfair for the crime. The ranchers were convicted under an anti-terrorism law that carried a minimum sentence of five years in prison. The fires the Hammonds set burned 140 acres of federal land. Federal Judge Michael Hogan cut their sentences shorter, ruling that forcing the Hammonds to serve out the five-year minimum qualified as “cruel and unusual.” After the Hammonds…

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Rep. Steve Cohen Introduces Bills to Eliminate Electoral College, Limit Presidential Powers to Issue Pardons

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09), who wishes U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) would jump off a bridge, wasted no time trying to monkey with the U.S. Constitution as the Democrats took control of the House Thursday – he introduced a bill to eliminate the Electoral College. Cohen is a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee. He actually introduced two Constitutional amendments, one to abolish the Electoral College and one to prohibit presidents from pardoning themselves, members of their families, members of their administrations and their campaign staff, according to a press release from his office. Cohen said, “In two presidential elections since 2000, including the most recent one in which Hillary Clinton won 2.8 million more votes than her opponent, the winner of the popular vote did not win the election because of the distorting effect of the outdated Electoral College. Americans expect and deserve the winner of the popular vote to win office. More than a century ago, we amended our Constitution to provide for the direct election of U.S. Senators. It is past time to directly elect our President and Vice President.” Cohen has previously tried to impeach President Donald Trump. Also on Thursday, U.S. Rep. Brad…

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Trump’s Use of Pardon Power Aims at Rectifying Injustice

by John-Michael Seibler   Since taking office, President Donald Trump has granted pardons and sentence commutations for a number of individuals who he thinks received an unjust federal prison sentence or were unjustly prosecuted and convicted of a federal crime. In some cases—particularly in granting the early-20th century black boxing champion Jack Johnson a posthumous pardon, and taking meetings on criminal justice issues—Trump is drawing flak, when he should be getting kudos for working to address instances of manifest injustice. On Oct. 9, Trump reiterated his commitment to using the presidential pardon power, saying that he was actively looking at more federal inmates in similar situations. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said that there are “a lot of people … that will unfortunately be locked up for many, many years, and there’s no reason for it.” Trump’s comments came before a widely publicized meeting on Oct. 11 with rapper Kanye West and pro football Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, during which the three discussed, among other things, prison reform and presidential pardons. Yet, one commentator called the meeting a “minstrel show,” and others used it as an opportunity to mock both West and Trump. In doing so, Trump’s…

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