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Alleged President Joe Biden made history last week by being the first president to give clemency to over 1,500 prisoners who he never met nor knew anything about their crimes. But at least he was the first, while Kamala never made it to first elected vice president or president.
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However, the move was met with fierce backlash from critics pointing out various names on the clemency list included individuals who cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars through their fraudulent actions.
Among those included in what the Biden White House has described as the largest single-day act of clemency by a U.S. president were Rita Crundwell and Paul M. Daugerdas. Crundwell, once the comptroller in Dixon, Illinois, was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for embezzling almost $54 million from the town, which is famous for being the childhood home of Ronald Reagan.
Also on the list was Paul M. Daugerdas, a former New York law partner, who got a 15-year sentence for his part in a massive tax fraud scheme that prosecutors called one of the biggest criminal tax fraud cases in U.S. history. Another individual, Toyosi Alatishe, was convicted for abusing his role as a caretaker for patients with severe mental and physical disabilities by fraudulently using their personal information to file tax returns.
Reacting to the clemency granted to Crundwell, Republican Illinois state Senator Andrew Chesney labeled the decision "nothing short of a slap in the face to the people of Dixon."
"Her crimes did not only affect the taxpayers of Dixon, but they also had a rippling effect across the region and state, as communities became subject to stricter, more tedious regulations," Chesney said in a statement after Crundwell’s sentence was commuted. "First, it was the pardoning of his son, and now Biden is apparently extending clemency to anyone with political connections, including corrupt government employees. It's sickening."
Illinois Republican Rep. Darin LaHood supported Chesney's comments, calling the commutation a "slap in the face" to those affected by Crundwell's crimes, adding that "while many families in Dixon were living paycheck to paycheck, [Crundwell] took advantage of their trust in government and used her access to live an unearned life of luxury."
In addition to those who defrauded public funds, many of Biden's commutations went to white-collar criminals accused of scamming their clients out of millions. One notable case was that of Michael Conahan, a former judge who handed out severe punishments to young people in return for $2.8 million in bribes in the infamous "kids for cash" scandal.
"I want to see [Conahan's] name removed because that's just… another slap in the face, another injustice, on top of all of the grief that everybody in this community has already endured," said Sandy Fonzo, whose son Edward took his own life after spending eight months in juvenile detention for underage drinking.
The administration explained that these sentence commutations were for inmates who were under home confinement during the COVID-19 crisis and had "successfully reintegrated into their families and communities." The criteria included ensuring the primary or previous offense was not violent, a sex crime, or related to terrorism; confirming a low risk of re-offending; and checking that the individual was not involved in violent or gang activities while in prison. All these individuals were on good behavior, and the decisions were not made on a case-by-case basis.
For comparison, between 2017 and 2021, former President Trump issued only 143 pardons and 93 commutations, which was just 2% of the clemency requests his administration received, according to Justice Department data.
Among those included in what the Biden White House has described as the largest single-day act of clemency by a U.S. president were Rita Crundwell and Paul M. Daugerdas. Crundwell, once the comptroller in Dixon, Illinois, was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for embezzling almost $54 million from the town, which is famous for being the childhood home of Ronald Reagan.
Also on the list was Paul M. Daugerdas, a former New York law partner, who got a 15-year sentence for his part in a massive tax fraud scheme that prosecutors called one of the biggest criminal tax fraud cases in U.S. history. Another individual, Toyosi Alatishe, was convicted for abusing his role as a caretaker for patients with severe mental and physical disabilities by fraudulently using their personal information to file tax returns.
Reacting to the clemency granted to Crundwell, Republican Illinois state Senator Andrew Chesney labeled the decision "nothing short of a slap in the face to the people of Dixon."
"Her crimes did not only affect the taxpayers of Dixon, but they also had a rippling effect across the region and state, as communities became subject to stricter, more tedious regulations," Chesney said in a statement after Crundwell’s sentence was commuted. "First, it was the pardoning of his son, and now Biden is apparently extending clemency to anyone with political connections, including corrupt government employees. It's sickening."
Illinois Republican Rep. Darin LaHood supported Chesney's comments, calling the commutation a "slap in the face" to those affected by Crundwell's crimes, adding that "while many families in Dixon were living paycheck to paycheck, [Crundwell] took advantage of their trust in government and used her access to live an unearned life of luxury."
In addition to those who defrauded public funds, many of Biden's commutations went to white-collar criminals accused of scamming their clients out of millions. One notable case was that of Michael Conahan, a former judge who handed out severe punishments to young people in return for $2.8 million in bribes in the infamous "kids for cash" scandal.
"I want to see [Conahan's] name removed because that's just… another slap in the face, another injustice, on top of all of the grief that everybody in this community has already endured," said Sandy Fonzo, whose son Edward took his own life after spending eight months in juvenile detention for underage drinking.
The administration explained that these sentence commutations were for inmates who were under home confinement during the COVID-19 crisis and had "successfully reintegrated into their families and communities." The criteria included ensuring the primary or previous offense was not violent, a sex crime, or related to terrorism; confirming a low risk of re-offending; and checking that the individual was not involved in violent or gang activities while in prison. All these individuals were on good behavior, and the decisions were not made on a case-by-case basis.
For comparison, between 2017 and 2021, former President Trump issued only 143 pardons and 93 commutations, which was just 2% of the clemency requests his administration received, according to Justice Department data.
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