There’s a clear pattern: Trump is turning the pardon power, which is meant for mercy, into rewards for the wealthy and well-connected, eroding trust in both the law and the presidency.

Quid pro quo pardons are plain corruption.

Imaad Zuberi was serving 12 years for violating lobbying, campaign finance, and tax laws, and obstructing an investigation into Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee. Zuberi had donated $1.1M post-2016 election and posted photos with Trump and his top aides. Trump pardoned him.

Trump pardoned Binance billionaire Changpeng Zhao after the Emirates used the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial crypto to fund a $2B Binance investment.

David Hanna, Georgia elector and CEO of Atlanticus Holdings involved in the 2020 “fake elector” scheme, received a pardon after donating at least $145,500 to Trump. Several other fake electors who donated to Trump have also been pardoned.

Trevor Milton was convicted of securities and wire fraud and sentenced to 4 years in prison for defrauding investors about Nikola’s “working” truck prototype. Weeks before the 2024 election, Milton and his wife gave $1.8M to Trump, and he hired lawyers tied to Trump’s inner circle.

Paul Walczak stole $10M from his employees’ paychecks to fund his luxury lifestyle, got 18 months in prison, and owed $4.4M in restitution. After his mother donated $1M at a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser, Trump gave him a full pardon. Walczak hasn’t paid his victims a single dollar.

Jason Galanis who was sentenced to 15 years for stealing $80M from union pension funds and a Native American tribe was pardoned after testifying in Republicans’ failed Biden impeachment probe. Trump’s pardon wiped out the $84.4M in restitution he owed his victims.

Now, 200 former attorneys have published an open letter to sound the alarm bell on the all-out war DOJ leadership has waged on the Division and how they have abandoned the mission of protecting the rights of America’s most vulnerable.

We now need a qualified, independent nominee to serve the people of New Jersey.

Americans are counting on us to address the most urgent challenges they are facing in their lives. I will not let up in this fight.

The fight for more affordable health care is not over, but success will require Democrats to recognize we must do much more on behalf of the American people, and for Republicans to start listening to the people they represent instead of their political boss, Donald Trump.