Trump's pardons highlight Justice Department's pullback from public corruption cases

WASHINGTON — The government's grounds against Scott Jenkins was compelling, including undercover video and different corroboration showing Jenkins, past the sheriff of Culpeper County, Virginia, accepting over $75,000 successful speech for giving instrumentality enforcement authorization to section businessmen, arsenic good arsenic 2 undercover FBI peculiar agents.

Jenkins’ co-defendants each pleaded guilty, and jurors didn't instrumentality agelong to convict Jenkins past year, deliberating for astir 2 hours earlier they recovered him blameworthy connected each counts. When Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years successful situation successful March, the acting U.S. lawyer for the Western District of Virginia said helium "violated his oath of bureau and the religion the citizens of Culpeper County placed successful him erstwhile helium engaged successful a cash-for-badges scheme."

But connected Monday, President Donald Trump announced helium was pardoning Jenkins, calling him "a unfortunate of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice" who "doesn’t merit to walk a azygous time successful jail." It's portion of a broader signifier for Trump, who successful the archetypal fewer months of his 2nd word has pardoned astatine slightest 4 supportive erstwhile nationalist officials who were convicted of fiscal improprieties.

Trump, who faced 2 abstracted national transgression cases that were dropped aft helium was re-elected successful November, has agelong argued that helium was a unfortunate of the weaponization of the Justice Department and the FBI, and helium has been sympathetic to those who marque akin claims, peculiarly those who are politically aligned with him.

In February, Trump pardoned Rod Blagojevich, the Democratic erstwhile politician of Illinois, whose condemnation helium had commuted successful 2020, aft helium was convicted connected corruption charges related to bribery. (Blagojevich attended the 2024 Republican normal successful enactment of Trump.) Trump pardoned Republican former Tennessee authorities Sen. Brian Kelsey successful March, conscionable implicit 2 weeks into a 21-month condemnation implicit a run finance-related fraud conviction. (Fellow Tennessee Republicans implored Trump to pardon Kelsey, who thanked him upon his merchandise from situation and said that “God utilized Donald Trump to prevention me.”) Last month, Trump pardoned Republican erstwhile Las Vegas City Council subordinate Michele Fiore, who had been acceptable to beryllium sentenced this period aft she was convicted connected conspiracy and ligament fraud charges related to misused fundraising. (Fiore had hitched her governmental vocation to Trump and benefited from his endorsement portion she backed his mendacious statements astir elector fraud successful the 2020 election.)

Those 4 figures and their pardons aren't the lone grounds of a Justice Department de-emphasizing nationalist corruption cases. In the aboriginal days of the administration, the Justice Department besides dropped a run concern case against Republican erstwhile Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska, who had been acceptable to spell connected proceedings adjacent month.

President Donald Trump talks to reporters successful the Oval Office of the White House connected Jan. 30.Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images file

The Trump medication besides moved to drop the corruption lawsuit against New York Mayor Eric Adams, which led several Justice Department officials to resign successful protest.

The Adams and Jenkins cases, among others, are linked by the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section. The division, which focuses connected bringing cases against nationalist officials accused of breaking the law, has shrunk successful some size and influence during the Trump administration. The FBI's Washington Field Office is shutting down a nationalist corruption squad that was focused connected national corruption.

“It’s wide that this medication doesn’t judge that tamping down connected nationalist corruption is simply a priority,” said Stacey Young, a erstwhile Justice Department authoritative who founded Justice Connection, a web of Justice Department alumni formed successful effect to the Trump administration's overhaul of the Justice Department. “Pardoning a sheriff who took currency for lawman badges is conscionable the latest successful a drawstring of actions this president has taken to undermine immoderate effort to clasp officials accountable to the nationalist they are sworn to serve.”

The White House didn’t respond to a petition for comment.

'Make Virginia Great Again'

It's not wide however the Jenkins lawsuit archetypal made its mode connected the White House's radar, but it recovered a backer successful Ed Martin, the blimpish activistic whom Trump initially enactment successful complaint of the U.S. attorney's bureau successful Washington earlier helium precocious named him the U.S. pardon attorney. Martin wrote connected X that helium was “thrilled” the Jenkins’ was the archetypal pardon since helium took the position: “Congratulations, Sheriff Jenkins: Do large things and marque america proud.”

In a thread successful which helium thanked Trump for pardoning Jenkins, Martin — who is besides director of the Justice Department’s Weaponization Working Group — wrote, “No MAGA near behind.”

Last week, Martin met with White House “pardon czar” Alice Marie Johnson, whose beingness condemnation for a cause condemnation Trump commuted during his archetypal term. Trump aboriginal gave Johnson a afloat pardon.

In an interrogation with Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump that aired connected Fox News this month, Johnson said she would reappraisal the cases of radical who spent excessively overmuch clip down bars, arsenic good arsenic “the victims of lawfare, the aforesaid mode our president was.”

A Justice Department authoritative said that Martin was anxious to get progressive successful the Jenkins lawsuit aft meetings with the White House and that helium concurred with and supported Trump's determination to contented a pardon.

Jenkins had argued that helium was targeted due to the fact that of his blimpish politics, including his positions connected immigration, guns and Covid lockdowns. In his own sentencing memo, Jenkins’ lawyers said helium "adamantly maintains his innocence."

When Jenkins was nether investigation, helium and different sheriffs discussed the anticipation of "flying to a concealed determination to presumption the Hunter Biden laptop, and past bringing charges against Hunter Biden based connected immoderate crimes depicted connected it," his lawyers wrote successful the sentencing memo.

The authorities said Jenkins perjured himself astatine trial, falsely testifying that co-defendant Rick Rahim had fixed him a "business investment" due to the fact that Jenkins had copyrighted the logo "Make Virginia Great Again" and that they were investing successful reddish shirts and hats. Discussions astir "Make America Great Again" shirts didn't hap until aft Rahim had made payments to Jenkins, which were intended to assistance him get his firearms rights restored, prosecutors argued.

Last week, prosecutors asked a judge to condemnation Rahim, who pleaded guilty, to 27 months successful prison, saying Jenkins made Rahim a "Helicopter Pilot" successful speech for bribes and pushed his petition for restoration of weapon rights adjacent though Rahim didn't unrecorded successful the county.

Prosecutors said recordings captured Jenkins laying retired the strategy successful wide presumption aft helium became frustrated that Rahim was pushing for much favors.

“I admit what enactment you springiness me, but you didn’t bash it for nothin’. You got a felony record, a cleanable slate to transportation — not lone transportation a gun,” Jenkins said successful a recorded speech successful 2022, according to a tribunal filing. “We followed it up with swearing you in. Name different sheriff successful the full State of Virginia that would bash that.”

An lawyer for Jenkins didn’t respond to a petition for comment, and a connection near astatine a telephone fig registered to Jenkins got nary response.

Meanwhile, much pardons for Trump supporters whitethorn beryllium successful the pipeline.

On Tuesday, Trump called 2 of the children of world tv mates Todd and Julie Chrisley and told them their parents would person pardons for slope fraud, taxation evasion and conspiracy charges. One of their daughters, world prima Savannah Chrisley, spoke connected their behalf astatine the Republican National Convention past twelvemonth and much precocious appeared connected a Fox News segment with Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump.

"When I saw, obviously, what the president was going through, what I was going through, it was eerily similar," Savannah Chrisley said successful the interview.

Martin precocious met with lawyer Peter Ticktin, who presented pardon applications for members of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, arsenic first reported by Politico. While astir Jan. 6 defendants got afloat pardons, Trump initially commuted the sentences of immoderate of the members of the 2 far-right groups, ending their situation sentences but maintaining the convictions and the collateral consequences — similar deprivation of definite rights — that spell on with them.

“There’s a bully woody of crushed to beryllium hopeful,” Ticktin, who went to the New York Military Academy with Trump, told NBC News. “No promises were made arsenic to what would beryllium done; that’s not the mode it works. We contiguous it and past we anticipation for the best."