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All In with Chris Hayes

12:14 min | 3 years ago

A Complete List of Trump’s Pardons and Commutations

"Today. Donald Trump continued his full on assault. On the rule of law pardoning and commuting the sentences of several high profile criminals he notably included former Illinois governor. Rod Blagojevich was convicted of trying to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat vacated because he was elected president in exchange for campaign contributions. Begovic had served eight years of a fourteen year prison sentence. You may also remember the governor from the apprentice where he messed up the Harry Potter Challenge and got fired Donald Trump. We'll technically by the apprentice producers today the President Communities Sentence Response Members of the Illinois House Republican delegation released a saying quote. We're disappointed by the president's commutation of Robert Mugabe of federal sentence. Begovic is the face of public corruption in Illinois. And not once has he shown any remorse for his clear undocumented. Record of egregious crimes that undermined the trust placed in him by the voters. Nbc News Correspondent. Tom Winter reminds us are eating. A jury found him guilty of trying to extort the CEO of Children's Memorial Hospital for a donation in exchange for increasing the payments to doctors. Who took care of Specialty Care Kids? Oh but Donald Trump was not done there he also pardoned former New York police department. Commissioner Bernard Kerik pleaded guilty to eight felony charges including tax fraud and lying to White House officials. Carrick was nominated by George W Bush to be the Secretary of Homeland Security before withdrawing that nomination just a week later. The judge gave a longer sentence than agreed to the plea deal saying quote. I think the damage caused by Mr Carrick is in some ways. Immeasurable trump also pardoned bond. Trader Michael Milkin. So guy considered to be the face of insider trading in the nineteen eighty S. Milton was originally charged with ninety eight. Federal counts including racketeering. He pleaded guilty to six felony charges of securities fraud conspiracy. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. He also paid six hundred million dollars in fines and restitution at sentencing. The judge said quote when a man of your power in the financial world repeatedly conspires to violate and violate securities and tax laws in order to achieve more power and wealth for himself and his wealthy clients. A significant president prison term is required in order to deter others others receive clemency from trump today glued former San Francisco Forty niners owner Edward debartolo junior. Who pleaded guilty in one thousand nine hundred eighty eight two concealing an extortion attempt involving the governor of Louisiana David Savvy and the former Bush administration official who was sentenced to a year in prison for lying about his association with Jack? Abramov June grown the owner of a Mental Health Care Company. Who was serving a thirty five year prison sentence for running? A two hundred. Five million dollar Medicare fraud scheme to be clear. This is the president who spent the last six months arguing. He so pose corruption. He had to make sure. Ukrainian president was to by withholding credit grudgingly approved military aid unless you launch fake investigation into the Biden's and route around Kremlin source conspiracy theory tourist findings but somehow this group of liars an extortionist and swindlers is the group of people. Trump felt deserve clemency. Maybe it's just a coincidence. That trump is pardoning these felons as the sentencing yet. Another one of his criminal pals looms earlier today. Trump tweeted about the judge in the trial of his longtime friend and advisor. Roger Stone suggesting stone deserved a new trial. Not long after the judge ruled stone. Sentencing hearing we'll go on that's planned on Thursday. Although she did say Roger. Stone's sentence will not begin until after she rules on his request for a new trial. Trump's interference with the stone cases. Troubled the Federal Judges Association so much that they called an emergency meeting tomorrow to address it and joining me now. For more on the president's pardoning spree. Today's Walter Dellinger. He was formerly formerly the acting. Solicitor General and also the head of the office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice under president. Bill Clinton Mr Dellinger. What do these pardons say to you as somebody who worked in in at high levels in justice in the United States? Well I think the show that we're really at the at the end of being a country that believes in equal justice under law there was no process to see how these crimes and these sentences compared with others who remain in prison. It's the president's own whim when a president acts by Wim and says he did of the Goya Vich. I wanted wife on television that that is an assault on the rule of law. But it goes much deeper than that. This is part of a three pronged assault on low as we know it. It involves threats of criminal prosecution of political opponents. Those investigate you. It involves promises that the president will intervene on behalf of those who commit crimes on his behalf and it. The third leg of this assault is his attack on judges and jurors in cases in which he's involved there is there's a banana republic aspect to it as you said that if you're friends with the president or on his TV show you get a pardon no matter what you've done and if you cross him in any way you might end up being prosecuted and we know that William Bar doesn't seem to be opposed to doing that but they're also does seem to be kind of a sort of Ross statement of power that Donald Trump is saying that if you commit these particular kinds of crimes that are against the Public. Trust that our financial in nature that are about corruption when he himself was impeached for corruption. It almost as sort of I don't know it almost feels like a message about that too about the fact that he's saying no no. I'm going to use of dive into corruption and revel in it. That's a good point Jordan. He treats he treats very high status people as if they're high status is a mitigation of their crops. When in fact it is an exacerbation that makes him so much worse. When you're a privileged person take for example. The fact that he has intervened on behalf of someone who was this got to be the national security adviser and lied about an investigation not just any investigation an investigation into a foreign military powers intervention. Our election. He intervened on behalf of someone who has been a prominent associated with President. Said is Roger Stone Who who committed five categories of lies and engaged in what the first department memo said was a relentless multi year attempt to again and obstruct justice in terms of an investigation into the corruption and the election and then finally the sympathy for someone. Who had the Honora being governor of one of our largest states? And who is thoroughly corrupt? And who sold a position in the United States Senate? Now that's he treats those because high status people as mitigation of their crops. And would it surprise you if the after to the things that Donald Trump does as well when it surprised if he's setting up there's been a lot of questions about whether he might try to part himself like if he's ever found to have committed some crime and that would certainly make himself the biggest part of the mall. I think he would undoubtedly attempt to pardon himself and everyone around him. He certainly let it be known that if a if he's re-elected or or even in the period after he was defeated he is GonNa take care of Of of everyone he knows including himself. I think the courts would reject hisself pardon but you know no presents ever tried that before so we can't be sure and the way in which he he seems to revel in the fact that he could take someone like sheriff. Joe Arpaio a law enforcement officer who is targeting Latinos for harassment and using the power of the police deliberately against a minority group and he pardoned him of criminal contempt of court that the way in which he plays with this. I think Dolly Elliptic who some times on this show referred to the `constitutionalisation of narcissism is what we face in this country. Yeah IT DONALD. Trump wants credit of also doing first step back kinds of criminal justice reform. He wants credit for that. But but do you sense in the pardons that he's doing especially today that the real message here is his own power right that he's essentially saying if you're powerful and you're my friend that is actually how you get a justice not by being somebody who was falsely accused of a crime or got too long of a sentence for having marijuana or something like that. That's why there's absolutely the absolute absence of any sense that the people pardoned held they compared with the culpability and the sentences of the tens and tens of thousands who remain in federal prison. The idea that he can act on on Mir welcome. I think something we've never seen the president before you know. Some people are going to raise the a Bill Clinton's pardon of financier and fugitive Bark Rich. And that was the worst thing. Bill Clinton did in eight years and an office is unjustified pardon but Donald Trump is taking it to a very different level where he's using the levers of the of the power of his office in order to corrupt law threatening opponents rewarding those who would commit crimes on his behalf going after judges and jurors in. I don't know where we go from here. I think we two thousand former prosecutors not just signed a letter but perhaps to think about blocking the willing to be arrested blocking the entrance of the Justice Department out. You have to use your imagination where we go from here Walter Dellinger. Thank you very much really appreciate your time and joining me now. For more. On the president's pardoning Spree Matthew Miller former chief spokesperson for the Department of Justice who's down MSNBC Justice analyst and Betsy Woodruff Swan Politics reporter at the daily beast and she's also an MSNBC contributor. So let's talk about sort of where where he could go from here and where and what it means and I'll start with where he could go from here. Betsy because is there any reporting on how much more of this because it does appear that there is a pattern? Somebody is either you know his friend or was on the apprentice goes on Fox News and pleads for his help he immediately responds to his friends and gives them a pardon. Who's who might be next on the list. I spent the afternoon talking to people who identify or describe themselves as allies of Roger Stone and they said that they saw the spate of clemencies that came down today as very comforting to them. Because they believe it's a signal. The President is sending that Roger. Stone may be next in line for this type of executive action. I thought your use of the phrase Banana Republic was really interesting because a federal judge. Us that exact same phrase in a transcript that was recently released from a closed door hearing regarding the investigation. That's now closed into Andrew McCabe and the judge literally said that the fact that trump was tweeting about McCabe so often the fact that he appeared to be interfering in that process created the appearance of a Banana Republic. So the thing to keep an eye on both the president of course granting clemency to people who he views as his political allies in part because he sees them on Fox News and the inverse of that which is the president encouraging DOJ to weaponize itself against people who he sees as his foes. And I'm glad also that Mister Diligent Joe Arpaio because they're also sort of symbolic arden's of people who are hurting the People Donald Trump's base wants to see hurt.