(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Should New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pardon former President Donald Trump following a guilty verdict led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg? One House Democrat believes she should.
On Friday, Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., took to Twitter, urging Hochul to pardon Trump for the nation’s sake.
“Donald Trump is a serial liar, cheater, and philanderer, a six-time declarer of corporate bankruptcy, an instigator of insurrection, and a convicted felon who thrives on portraying himself as a victim. @GovKathyHochul should pardon him for the good of the country,” Phillips wrote.
Donald Trump is a serial liar, cheater, and philanderer, a six-time declarer of corporate bankruptcy, an instigator of insurrection, and a convicted felon who thrives on portraying himself as a victim.@GovKathyHochul should pardon him for the good of the country.
— Dean Phillips (@deanbphillips) June 1, 2024
In a separate statement, the Democratic lawmaker issued a dire warning about the implications of a criminal conviction for Trump.
“You think pardoning is stupid?” Philips asked, “Making him a martyr over a payment to a porn star is stupid. (Election charges are entirely different.) It’s energizing his base, generating record sums of campaign cash, and will likely result in an electoral boost.”
You think pardoning is stupid?
Making him a martyr over a payment to a porn star is stupid. (Election charges are entirely different.)
It’s energizing his base, generating record sums of campaign cash, and will likely result in an electoral boost.
— Dean Phillips (@deanbphillips) June 1, 2024
Phillips’s remarks came after his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, losing to incumbent President Joe Biden. He spent $5 million of his own money on the long-shot campaign but has since endorsed Biden.
According to the New York Post, Hochul is “unlikely” to issue a pardon. “I cannot image a world where she would consider doing this, this makes no sense,” an unnamed source told the newspaper.
Shortly after the conviction, Hochul claimed that “justice was served.”
Speaking on WLRN radio, she added, “In the state of New York, if you commit a crime, and there’s evidence to demonstrate that you have met the standards of being arrested and brought to a trial and a jury of your peers considers all the evidence, then their verdict must hold. … No one is above the law.”
