Published on January 22, 2025
This presidential action documents Donald Trump's full pardon of Terence Sutton for convictions in the District of Columbia related to violations of DC Code 2103, and federal codes 18 USC 371 and 1512, for which Sutton received concurrent sentences totaling 66 months imprisonment plus supervised release. The pardon, issued in January 2025, completely absolves Sutton of these convictions and their associated penalties.
The timing and nature of this pardon raises significant concerns about potential political reciprocity and the undermining of judicial process. The specifics of Sutton's crimes are notably absent from the document, while the inclusion of Title 18 USC 1512 (relating to witness tampering) suggests this pardon may be strategically aimed at protecting individuals involved in broader criminal conspiracies by removing legal consequences for those who obstruct justice on behalf of others.
While presented as a straightforward exercise of presidential clemency power, this pardon appears to be part of a larger pattern of using executive authority to protect political allies and potentially obstruct justice. The public should be particularly concerned about the pardon's timing and its relationship to witness tampering charges, as these elements suggest possible coordination to impede ongoing investigations or prosecutions.
Executive Grant of ClemencyDonald J. TrumpPresident of the United States of AmericaTo All to Whom These Presents Shall Come, Greeting: Be it Known, that This Day, I, Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, Pursuant to My Powers Under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, of the Constitution, Have Granted UntoTERENCE SUTTONA Full and Unconditional Pardon For His convictions in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, on an indictment (Docket No. 1:21-cr-00598-PLF), of violations of section 2103, title 22, District of Columbia Code; section 371, title 18, United States Code; and section 1512, title 18, United States Code; for which he was sentenced on September 12, 2024, to 66, 48, and 48 months of imprisonment, respectively (all to run concurrently); 3 years of supervised release; and a special assessment of three hundred dollars ($300). I HEREBY DESIGNATE, direct, and empower, the Pardon Attorney, as my representative, to sign a grant of clemency to the person named herein. The Pardon Attorney shall declare that her action is the act of the President, being performed at my direction. IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto signed my name and caused the seal of the Department of Justice to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington in the District of Columbia this 22nd day of January in the Year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States the two hundred forty-ninth.