White House Explores 250 Pardons to Mark America’s 250th Birthday - WSJ

Trump could make the announcements on June 14, which is both Flag Day and his birthday, or on Fourth of July

White House officials are weighing a plan for President Trump to issue 250 pardons as a way to mark the celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday this summer, according to people familiar with the matter.

The plan is still in preliminary discussions but, if carried out, would expand Trump’s already wide use of the pardon power.

His apparent willingness to grant pardons has drawn criticism from both sides of the aisle and encouraged some high-profile candidates to openly campaign to have their convictions or alleged crimes wiped away with a signature.

Some in the White House have raised concerns about doing too many more pardons, or any at all, before the midterm elections this fall, some of the people said. Trump could announce the 250 acts of mercy on June 14, which is both Flag Day and his birthday, or on the Fourth of July, some of the people said.

A White House official said there are always conversations about how to best carry out the president’s priorities, but no decisions had been made. Trump is the ultimate decision maker on any clemency-related actions, the official added.

Trump has been determined to put his imprint on the national celebration, known as the semiquincentennial.

He has pushed for a National Garden of American Heroes featuring 250 life-size statues of figures including past presidents George Washington and Ronald Reagan and baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson. He has launched plans for the “Patriot Games,” athletic competitions featuring high-schoolers. And he has commissioned the repainting of the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

Throughout history, kings and popes traditionally celebrated “jubilee” years with granting pardons and forgiving sins.

Ed Martin, the Trump-appointed pardon attorney at the Justice Department, harked to that history earlier this year in a guest essay published in “Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture,” writing that pardons were “especially essential to the administration of justice” to past rulers.

Recent history has displayed the pitfalls of trying to hit a target number for clemency.

In the waning days of his term, former President Joe Biden raced to commute the sentences of nearly 2,500 inmates serving lengthy prison terms for drug offenses. Biden celebrated the wave of clemency, saying he had issued more individual pardons and commutations than any U.S. president, even as the move angered officials then inside the Justice Department who thought he granted mercy to offenders with violent histories, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Biden previously drew criticism over the pardon of his son Hunter Biden and his decision to commute death sentences of 37 death-row inmates who are now serving life imprisonment without parole.

Trump has expanded his use of the pardon in his second term, including a mass forgiveness of his supporters charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

He pardoned Changpeng Zhao, founder of world’s largest crypto exchange Binance; Trevor Milton, convicted of defrauding investors in truck maker Nikola; and Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the crypto-fueled black market Silk Road.

Trump has discussed widespread pardons for his staff before he leaves office, the Journal has reported.

Trump’s use of his constitutional power has contributed to a surge in pardon requests, and some high-profile campaigns. There were more than 16,000 formal requests last year, a record according to Justice Department data going back to 1937.

Jho Low, the alleged mastermind behind the theft of $4.5 billion from Malaysia’s government investment fund, 1MDB, filed for a pardon, the Journal reported earlier.

So did Fugees member Pras Michel, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being convicted of charges including illegally lobbying the Trump administration on behalf of Low and improperly funneling donations to then-President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the convicted head of crypto exchange FTX, has sought a pardon, though Trump has publicly said he had no intention of granting it.

A lawyer for Ghislaine Maxwell has publicly raised the idea of potential clemency in exchange for testimony from his client, who is serving a 20-year sentence for helping recruit and groom underage girls for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

After the Supreme Court declined to hear Maxwell’s appeal, Trump was asked last year whether he was considering a pardon. He said he would have to speak with the Justice Department.

“I have a lot of people who’ve asked me for pardons,” he told reporters.