White House assembles team of advisers to guide clemency process... (led by Jared Kushner)
Source: Washington Post
White House assembles team of advisers to guide clemency process as Trump considers more pardons
By Toluse Olorunnipa, Josh Dawsey and Neena Satija
2/19/2020, 8:57:01 p.m.
The White House is moving to take more direct control over pardons and commutations, with President Trump aiming to limit the role of the Justice Department in the clemency process as he weighs a flurry of additional pardon announcements, according to people familiar with the matter.
Trump, who granted clemency Tuesday to a group of 11 people that included several political allies and supporters, has assembled a team of advisers to recommend and vet candidates for pardons, according to several people with knowledge of the matter who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
The group, essentially an informal task force of at least a half-dozen presidential allies, has been meeting since late last year to discuss a revamped pardon system in the White House. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, is taking a leading role in the new clemency initiative and has supported the idea of putting the White House more directly in control of the process that in past administrations has been housed in the Justice Department, officials said.
Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general who served on Trump’s impeachment defense team, is also playing a significant role, vetting applications for potential pardon recipients. Kushner has personally reviewed applications with White House lawyers before presenting them to Trump for final approval, according to two senior administration officials.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-assembles-team-of-advisers-to-guide-clemency-process-as-trump-considers-more-pardons/2020/02/19/752d04d2-532e-11ea-929a-64efa7482a77_story.html
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Source: The Daily Beast
Trump Has Put Jared Kushner in Charge of Pardons, Says Report
FAMILY BUSINESS
Jamie Ross
Reporter
Updated Feb. 20, 2020 7:16AM ET /
Published Feb. 20, 2020 6:06AM ET
Jared Kushner is leading a team of Trump advisers put together by the White House to recommend and vet candidates for future pardons, according to The Washington Post. The report comes days after President Donald Trump pardoned a group of 11 people, including several convicted felons who are either Fox News regulars or have been championed by the right-wing cable channel, and one whose family has donated huge sums of money to his re-election campaign. The Post reports the group is made up of a handful of Trump allies who have been meeting since late last year to discuss a new pardon system in the White House. Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, has reportedly advocated for the White House wrestling control of the clemency process away from the Justice Department. Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general who served on Trump’s impeachment-defense and campaign teams, is also reportedly on board. One official told the newspaper that more pardons are likely before the election, saying that Trump enjoys handing them out.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-has-put-jared-kusher-in-charge-of-pardons-says-report
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