Judge criticizes Justice Department's broad reading of Trump's Capitol riot pardons
Source: Associated Press
Judge criticizes Justice Department’s broad reading of Trump’s Capitol riot pardons
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
Updated 3:07 PM EST, February 26, 2025
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday criticized the Justice Department’s evolving position that a presidential pardon for a Kentucky man who stormed the Capitol also covers his conviction for illegally possessing guns at his home.
U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich pressed a prosecutor to explain why the department abandoned its initial conclusion that Daniel Edwin Wilson must report back to prison because it didn’t believe that his pardon for the Jan. 6, 2021, riot extended to his firearms convictions.
“The meaning of the pardon can’t be shifting from day to day,” the judge said.
Friedrich said it was “extraordinary” for the Justice Department to declare that President Donald Trump’s blanket pardons for Capitol rioters apply to crimes related to illegal “contraband” found by investigators during searches related to the Jan. 6 cases.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/trump-pardons-capitol-riot-daniel-edwin-wilson-1c15254f539b2ee67ecd53dd629853b8