Durbin, Senate Judiciary Democrats Ask AG Bondi For Clarification On The Trump Admin's Extreme & Partisan Approach To The Pardon Power
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today led Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in two letters to U.S. Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi seeking clarification about the Trump Administration’s extreme and partisan approach to the pardon power. The first letter asks what role, if any, the Department of Justice (DOJ) played in the pardons and commutations issued by President Donald Trump to individuals convicted of crimes in connection with the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, as well as greater clarity regarding DOJ’s position on the scope of criminal acts covered by these pardons and commutations. Along with Durbin, this letter was signed by U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Adam Schiff (D-CA). “As you know, on January 20, 2025, President Trump granted clemency t