Ron DeSantis Spots Room For 'Pardons And Commutations' Among Sentenced Proud Boy

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested the use of pardons and commutations in the cases of Proud Boys members and others sentenced for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. (You can check out his comments in the clip below.)

In an interview with Newsmax’s Eric Bolling on Wednesday, the GOP presidential candidate, weighed in on how he’d approach their sentences if he were elected president.

ProPublica review of pardons in past decade shows process heavily favored whites

White criminals seeking presidential pardons over the past decade have been nearly four times as likely to succeed as minorities, a ProPublica examination has found.

Blacks have had the poorest chance of receiving the president’s ultimate act of mercy, according to an analysis of previously unreleased records and related data.

Current and former officials at the White House and Justice Department said they were surprised and dismayed by the racial disparities, which persist even when factors such as the type of crime and sentence are considered.

“I’m just astounded by those numbers,” said Roger Adams, who served as head of the Justice Department’s pardons office from 1998 to 2008. He said he could think of nothing in the office’s practices that would have skewed the recommendations. “I can recall several African Americans getting pardons.’’

The review of applications for pardons is conducted almost entirely in secret, with the government releasing scant information about those it rejects.

ProPublica’s review examined what happened after President George W. Bush decided at the beginning of his first term to rely almost entirely on the recommendations made by career lawyers in the Office of the Pardon Attorney.