Tag: First Step Act

White House Weighs Pardon Blitz Before Trump’s Exit

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

White House Weighs Pardon Blitz Before Trump’s Exit

So far, Mr. Trump has granted 28 pardons, which wipe out convictions, and 16 commutations, which reduce prison sentences. The combined total is the lowest so far for any president since at least William McKinley, who took office in 1897, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center.

Related:

Trump Says He Pardoned Michael Flynn, Ex-National Security Adviser

Before Election, Trump Tries To Stack Prison-Sentencing Agency With Right Wing Allies

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Before Election, Trump Tries To Stack Prison-Sentencing Agency With Right Wing Allies

President Trump has quietly nominated a slate of tough-on-crime former prosecutors to run a powerful agency that writes the sentencing rules for the entire federal prison system.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission is an independent panel of seven members who set guidelines for federal judges to follow when calculating defendants’ prison time, with an emphasis on making sure that sentences are fair and not overly punitive. The commission is required by law to be bipartisan and to represent a diversity of backgrounds.

But Trump has broken from that precedent by proposing to fill the agency’s five empty seats with appointees who are nearly all white male former law enforcement officials.