He pardons a former VA sheriff and two reality stars, saying they were targeted by a “weaponized” Justice Department.
This week, President Donald Trump issued a suite of pardons, including those of two former governors, a U.S. Army officer, a former Virginia sheriff, and a couple who used to be reality show stars. The governors, who had long since served their sentences, had their records cleared. The Army officer was the first military service member to face court martial for refusal to comply with COVID-19 policies.
The president pardoned former sheriff Scott Jenkins who was prosecuted and convicted for taking campaign contributions allegedly in exchange for appointing auxiliary sheriffs in his department. The judge in his case had refused to allow him to present exculpatory evidence in his defense. The president issued the pardon the day before he was to report for a 10-year prison sentence.
President Trump stated, “This Sheriff is a victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice, and doesn’t deserve to spend a single day in jail.“
The president also fully pardoned a reality TV couple, Todd and Julie Chrisley, who had been tried and convicted for fraud and tax evasion in 2022. Their daughter had advocated for her parents for years as they served their respective twelve- and seven-year federal prison sentences.
The couples’ case was litigated in Fulton County, Georgia, where they were referred to as the “Trumps of the South” during their trial, according to their daughter Savannah, who has become a criminal justice reform advocate.
President Trump also issued a number of commutations of sentences for those with drug convictions and other crimes for which they had served considerable prison terms.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For discernment for President Trump as he considers and grants requests for pardons and commutations.
- For the president’s advisors and the U.S. pardon attorney as they review commutations and pardons issued by the previous administration.
Sources: Daily Fetched, PJ Media, CNN, Washington Examiner, News Nation, NTD
