Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is still holding out hope that President Donald Trump will grant him clemency like he did 11other white collar criminals Tuesday.
What We Know:
- Last month, Kilpatrick’s friend, Peter Karmanos forwarded Trump a letter, which was authored by Kilpatrick, requesting that the president commute Kilpatrick’s sentence as time served. Kilpatrick, who was sentenced to 28 years in prison, has been locked up since his 2013 on a conviction of 24 criminal charges including extortion, mail fraud, and tax violations.
- He currently resides in a federal prison in New Jersey. If his sentence is not commuted, Kilpatrick is not eligible for release until 2037.
- Appearing on the No BS Newshour podcast last month, Karmanos said he was lobbying for Kilpatrick because the punishment was too harsh for the crime. He says Trump is seriously considering the matter.
- Kilpatrick’s appeals lawyer, Harold Gurewitz, said that he had not been contacted by any White House officials on Tuesday, though he noted that might not happen anyway. He said the White House would likely contact the courts first.
- Trump announced pardons for former New York police commissioner Bernie Kerik, convicted of tax fraud and lying to officials; Mike Milken, an investment banker known as “Junk Bond King” who was convicted of securities fraud and conspiracy and Eddie DeBartolo Jr., ex-owner of the San Francisco 49ers who plead guilty in 1998 to failing to report a felony in a bribery case.
The White House declined to comment on the matter, according to the Detroit Free-Press.
