Political expert says pardons considered in Whitmer kidnapping plot case has "desensitized people to violence"
In 2020, over a dozen people were arrested for creating a plan to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Most of them are currently in prison. Now, with President Trump saying he will "take a look at" pardoning the group of men, some are wondering the reason behind it.
"Even talking about taking people who have been accused of kidnapping a governor and giving them a pardon, I think that desensitized people to violence," said Jeffrey Bernstein, political science professor at Eastern Michigan University.
Among those in prison for the derailed kidnapping are Adam Fox and Barry Croft. The two were sentenced to over 15 years in prison. The president says many people from both sides have asked him about the case.
"I did watch the trial. It looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job," Mr. Trump told reporters on Wednesday.
The president's pardon list is growing this week, including reality TV stars and rappers. Experts say it's unusual for presidents to make controversial pardons this early in a term.
"The number of people who have donated significantly to the GOP party who have supported Trump and have been pardoned is nowhere near the scale we've seen before," Bernstein said. "The only way presidential pardons could be 'quote' checked in any way would be by impeaching the president who does it. Given the republican majority in the House and Senate, that is not going to happen," experts tell our team.
CBS News Detroit contacted Whitmer's team to get the governor's thoughts on this latest announcement.