Texas Democrat pans both Trump and Biden over pardons

Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) thinks former President Biden left Latinos hanging amid a flurry of last-minute pardons that sought to preempt legal action by the incoming Trump administration.

"As a member of the U.S. Congress who believes in second chances, I am deeply disappointed that President Biden — who made headlines for pardoning his son and issuing a record number of commutations and pardons — refused to grant clemency to deserving Hispanics in South Texas and across this country. These nonviolent offenders paid their debt to society and took all of the requisite steps to remove a stain from their record only to be met with rejection,” said Gonzalez in a Tuesday statement.

A spokesperson for Gonzalez declined to name specific cases, citing constituents’ privacy, but the lawmaker said Biden — and President Trump, who on Monday pardoned, commuted sentences for or vowed to dismiss the cases of more than 1,500 people accused of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol — ignored deserving clemency candidates while checking off their own political boxes.

“The group, consisting of Hispanic/Latino constituents, included an 86 year old man who served his sentence over 20 years ago. He turned his life around and has been pardoned by the Texas State Bar and has been practicing law. These are folks who made a mistake and did everything to rectify it. President Biden and his staff had the power to give them a new lease on life, but chose not to,” said Gonzalez.

“Instead, he pardoned his family. Then, President Trump pardoned insurrectionists while my people in South Texas are still left in the lurch. This is not right.”

Trump’s January 6 pardons earned him friendly fire, much in the same way that Biden’s acts of clemency toward associates, friends and family, including toward his son Hunter Biden in December, drew attacks from both sides of the aisle.

Trump’s GOP critics included former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), who in an article on Semafor Tuesday singled out Trump’s pardoning of rioters who directly attacked Capitol Police officers.

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