Blumenthal Statement on Trump Pardons

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after President Trump issued fifteen new pardons to people including George Papadopoulos and Alex van der Zwaan, both convicted in connection to the Special Counsel’s Russia investigation; four Blackwater employees convicted for killing Iraqi civilians during the Nisour Square Massacre; and three former Republican Members of Congress who were all convicted of corruption-related crimes:

“I doubt government contractors who slaughtered civilians or corrupt Congressional cronies were what the Founders had in mind when they drafted the pardon clause. Most despicably, President Trump is twisting this presidential power to reward allies who broke the law on his behalf. Donald Trump leaves the presidency just as he took it: without a shred of respect for the Constitution and as a complete disgrace to his office.”

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