{"id":16544,"date":"2025-06-11T21:23:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T21:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=16544"},"modified":"2025-06-11T21:23:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T21:23:11","slug":"trumps-pardons-are-part-of-remaking-doj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=16544","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s Pardons Are Part Of Remaking DOJ"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"President-Elect<\/div>
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Donald Trump has not been shy about his approach to pardons. In some cases, it reflects his … More<\/span> makeover of the Department of Justice.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/fbs-accordion>Getty Images<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Trump And Pardons<\/h2>\n

In 2025, President Donald Trump issued a series of high-profile pardons and commutations, notably surpassing his previous clemency record (143 pardons and 85 commutations). A significant action was the mass pardon on Jan. 20, 2025, for approximately 1,500 individuals convicted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2023, U.S. Capitol attack. This included full pardons for leaders of extremist groups such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other notable clemency recipients included Ross Ulbricht, founder of the Silk Road dark web marketplace, who received a full and unconditional pardon; 23 anti-abortion activists convicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act; former New York Congressperson Michael Grimm<\/a> and former Connecticut Governor John Rowland<\/a>. Grimm and Rowland were pardoned in May.<\/p>\n

Critics have raised concerns that these actions may undermine the justice system and that these pardons are the result of Trump insiders simply paying those close<\/a> to the president for access for a commutation or pardon. However, Trump\u2019s DOJ issued new guidance on enforcement<\/a>, that was critical of past \u201cover broad and unchecked corporate and white-collar enforcement [that]<\/p>\n

burdens U.S. businesses and harms U.S. interests.\u201d Many of these pardons seem to go along with this directive.<\/p>\n

Pardons Send A Message<\/h2>\n

Government prosecutors are not going to want to bring a case that Trump may toss with a commutation or pardon. While the big government shakeup being experienced in the U.S. continues, pardons and commutations seem to be an almost daily part of the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

Trump appointed Alice Johnson, herself the recipient of a Trump pardon in his first term, as Pardon Czar and her focus has been on those who received long sentences that now seem draconian. As pointed out in a Washington Post<\/em> piece about Johnson\u2019s work, she looks closer to what prison personnel have to say about someone seeking a pardon over the objections of U.S. prosecutors. In some cases, Trump\u2019s pardons come without the need to talk to prison officials as pardons are being given to those who have not even seen<\/a> the inside of a prison.<\/p>\n

The Trial Penalty<\/h2>\n

There is an old adage that many prisoners will state that they were or are wrongly imprisoned. In fact, in my business, many tell me about over-prosecutions that led them to prison. I have heard the line, \u201cYou\u2019ve probably heard this before, but I didn\u2019t do it.\u201d Why would someone admit to a crime they did not commit? In our justice system it happens everyday because of something called the Trial Penalty.<\/p>\n

The federal trial penalty refers to the significantly harsher sentences defendants face if they reject a plea deal and choose to go to trial. This penalty stems from the belief that defendants who go to trial are seen as unapologetic about their behavior, leading to prosecutors to seek longer sentences. As a result, many defendants plead guilty to avoid the risk of a much more severe punishment. However, the primary way to properly preserve one\u2019s rights to an appeal is to go to trial. It is an old problem that many have just accepted as a way the system works.<\/p>\n

The Case Of Mary K. Rogers<\/h2>\n

Kay Rogers currently has a pending pardon application. Rogers, a former Butler county Ohio Auditor (Republican), who went to prison for 24 months for a bank loan that the bank says she does not even owe, has been asking for someone to look at her case. Now, out of prison for many years and off of supervised release, Rogers sees Trump as a possible way to clear her name and save her home. \u201cI pled guilty,\u201d Rogers said in an interview, \u201cbut I was a single mother with 6 kids and going to trial just was something I could not afford.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rogers wants the pardon because even though the bank says she had nothing to do with the fraud that sent her to prison, the U.S. government still wants to collect restitution. \u201cThey have a lien on my home,\u201d Rogers told me in an interview, \u201cand I have no idea where this money they want from me would even go.\u201d Other women who believe they were overcharged in their crimes have made repeated requests to have their cases reviewed<\/a> for pardons.<\/p>\n

The Case Of Aaron Zahn<\/h2>\n

Aaron Zahn, former CEO of the Jacksonville Electric Authority, was convicted in March 2024 of conspiracy to embezzle federal property and wire fraud for allegedly orchestrating a $40 million payout linked to JEA\u2019s privatization. Prosecutors claimed this scheme would have cost Jacksonville taxpayers hundreds of millions, but Zahn\u2019s defense argued no such scheme existed. Zahn is currently appealing his 4-year sentence, asserting he was wrongly prosecuted for defrauding a city of property that never existed. Zahn and JEA\u2019s CFO, Ryan Wannemacher, were tried together, with Wannemacher being found not guilty.<\/p>\n

Before Zahn became CEO, JEA faced major financial challenges, including declining sales and a poor power contract. Privatization was discussed, but political resistance hindered progress. Zahn, brought in to drive change, pushed for privatization and was involved in the creation of a strategic plan that included the possibility of selling JEA. Despite the suspension of the Performance Unit Plan, a leaked memo exaggerating its costs led to public outrage, Zahn\u2019s termination, and an investigation.<\/p>\n

Zahn\u2019s Garrity statement, pertaining to statements given under immunity during an internal investigation, was used in his prosecution. Such statements are typically protected from being used against an individual in criminal cases, raising concerns about legal precedent, something Zahn\u2019s is contesting in his appeal.<\/p>\n

Zahn is currently imprisoned at FCI Edgefield satellite camp.<\/p>\n

Pardons Will Keep Coming<\/h2>\n

Some have criticized the Trump administration and the pardons given, but the pardon and commutation system has been inconsistent in doling out fairness in the past. Those with access have always been moved to the top for presidential consideration and Alice Johnson, who definitely deserved her pardon, would likely be still in prison had it not been for advocates, namely Kim Kardashian<\/a>, who personally pled with Trump for her release.<\/p>\n

Biden, and even Trump in his first term, gave commutations sparingly throughout their terms until it came to the last days of the administration. Now, there is an ongoing process of review and action that is leading to action, and that is a refreshing change.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Donald Trump has not been shy about his approach to pardons. In some cases, it reflects his … More makeover of the Department of Justice. Getty Images Trump And Pardons In 2025, President Donald Trump issued a series of high-profile pardons and commutations, notably surpassing his previous clemency record (143 pardons and 85 commutations). A<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16545,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[196],"tags":[1713,3273,2890,6735,962],"class_list":{"0":"post-16544","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-finance-news","8":"tag-doj","9":"tag-pardons","10":"tag-part","11":"tag-remaking","12":"tag-trumps"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16544\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}