Already… #Trump has granted #clemency to at least 8 individuals #convicted on fed #drug charges. Some, incl’g Hoover, have extensive #criminal records involving #violence & #gun charges.
“There's a lot of mixed messages &…which creates… #chaos & #uncertainty,”said Jeffrey Singer, a drug policy analyst at Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank. "On the one hand you're threatening…tougher penalties on people who deal in #drugs, while on the other hand you're releasing #DrugDealers from prisons."

Following the #Jan6 attack, there was a wave of #civil cases & #criminal prosecutions that splintered the [domestic terrorist] orgs & sent many members to prison before sweeping #clemency from #Trump. Among them were group leaders named alongside >30 others in the city’s suit, including #ProudBoys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio & #OathKeepers founder Stewart Rhodes, both of whom juries #convicted of #SeditiousConspiracy for their part in trying to block the peaceful transition of power.

As part of the #clemency effort, #SBF’s parents Mr. Bankman & Ms. Fried, who are #Stanford University #law professors & longtime active #Democrats [shame], are consulting w/Kory Langhofer, an AZ atty who worked for #Trump’s 2016 & 2020 presidential campaigns. Politically connected businesspeople & DC lobbyists have also received outreach from intermediaries who claim to be allies of #SamBankmanFried….

…The push appears intended to capitalize on #Trump’s #transactional approach to #clemency. Trump favors #pardon seekers w/connections to him—either personally or through lawyers & lobbyists—& claims of *prosecutorial misconduct* [perceived persecution] that echo his own #grievances about the cases against him.

…At the heart of the controversy is the vague language of #Trump’s mass #pardons for #Jan6 *rioters*. He granted #clemency to anyone “convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.”

Jan 6 defendants have repeatedly argued that the language is so broad it covers other #crimes that have nothing to do w/Jan 6 but were discovered during the vast #criminal probe stemming from the Capitol attack.

The abrupt reversal prompted a federal judge — now weighing Wilson’s last-minute effort to avoid prison for the #gun conviction — to demand answers from the #Trump admin on Wed: Who exactly did Trump mean to #pardon when he signed his sweeping #clemency order last month, & for what #crimes?

During a 2-hr hearing in her federal courtroom, US District Judge Dabney Friedrich—a Trump appointee—grilled a #DOJ atty about the matter & appeared to leave with more questions than answers.

In New Jersey, there’s no legal mechanism for judges to take into account whether a defendant suffered abuse that may have been a factor in their committing a crime. Seventy-two percent of first-time offenders imprisoned for a violent crime in the state’s women’s prison were abused by their victim. While Governor Phil Murphy has granted clemency to some people, The ACLU of New Jersey and other groups are now advocating for a legislative fix. @bolts takes a look at the issue.

https://boltsmag.org/new-jersey-clemency-and-sentencing-for-survivors-of-abuse/

Here is a copy of #Trump’s proclamation granting #pardons & #clemency to #Jan6 #insurgents.

https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/03e3cc0f9ad2d5fb/df66b9c8-full.pdf

#Biden also commuted the sentence of 2 other people who are serving sentences for crimes that they committed in the 1990s that would keep them behind bars for the rest of their lives. The 2 individuals, whose petitions have overwhelming support from #CivilRights activists, will be released next month…

Biden… said that the #clemency recipients had “demonstrated remorse, rehabilitation & redemption,” & “each made significant contributions to improving their communities.”

#Clemency advocates & #Democrats in Congress pressed #Biden for months to consider commutations for drug offenders serving long sentences that were reduced by the First Step Act…. In a letter to the WH in October, Senate Democrats, including Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin of Illinois, also pointed to #crack cocaine offenders who received much harsher sentences than powder #cocaine offenders.

Presidents…have broad authority to grant #clemency as a tool to show mercy & address injustices…. Commutations cut short federal prison terms, & #pardons help former defendants obtain employment & regain #CivilRights….

#Trump used his power to help campaign donors, political allies & celebrities — many of whom went on to help him win a second term.

#Biden campaigned in 2020 to reduce the #prison population & do away with the federal #DeathPenalty.…

“It is time that we equalize these sentencing disparities,” #Biden said in a statement. “This action is an important step toward righting historic wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities, & providing deserving individuals the opportunity to return to their families & communities after spending far too much time behind bars.”

The statement said Biden’s latest #clemency grants mean he has issued more individual #pardons & #commutations than any other U.S. president.

“The Democrats on more than one occasion have tried to make the case that we’re the adults in the room, but the American people don’t always think we’re the fighters in the room,” Rep #AyannaPressley said. “And that’s often because we have the power but don’t use it. Scared power is no power at all. And President #Biden has the power.”