Donald Trump at the Trump International Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey on July 28, 2022 (Image: Shutterstock)
President Donald Trump's most recent "bizarre" pardon seems to have been negotiated in part thanks to his frequent golf habit, according to an analysis from MS NOW.
Trump is no stranger to controversial pardons, often appearing to hand them out to loyalists or those convicted of crimes he looks favorably upon. Even so, some of his more recent pardons have managed to turn heads, including those of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted in one of the largest drug trafficking cases in US history. At least one recent pardon, that of real estate developer Timothy Leiweke, contradicts his own Justice Department, and seems to have been decided over a round of golf, according to MS NOW contributor and Rachel Maddow producer Steve Benen.
According to Benen's analysis of the situation, Trump's DOJ pursued charges against Leiweke over allegations that he attempted to rig the bidding process for a $375 million basketball arena that was ultimately built at the University of Texas. Despite his own administration launching the case, Trump issued a pardon for Leiweke last week.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that this decision was made after “a very thorough review process,” done by “qualified lawyers.” Benen, however, called this "one of the most laughable claims Leavitt has ever made" and added that, "in this administration, 'pardons' and 'utmost seriousness' clearly do not belong in the same sentence."
To back up that argument, Benen highlighted reports from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, which both noted that Trump made the decision after Leiweke's case was brought up to him by Trey Gowdy, a former South Carolina congressman turned Fox News contributor.
"While the Journal’s report has not been independently verified by MS NOW, Gowdy, who became a Fox News host after stepping down from Congress in 2019, effectively confirmed the reporting, telling the paper on the record that he played a round of golf with the president on Nov. 16, at which point Trump asked Gowdy if there was anything he needed," Benen wrote. "The former Republican congressman brought up his client, Leiweke, arguing that he’d been treated unfairly."
Gowdy reportedly suggested a nonprosecution deal for Leiweke, but Trump ultimately opted to give him a full pardon.
The president's decision flies in the face of efforts directly tied to two of his most high-profile administration officials: the investigation against Leiweke was led by an FBI official appointed by Director Kash Patel, and charges were eventually brought by a DOJ prosecutor appointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi.