Donald Trump has a knack for issuing pardons for politicians who’ve been accused or convicted of corruption charges, but the broader pattern isn’t limited to those who’ve been elected to public office. Last week, for example, the president also pardoned Timothy Leiweke, a real estate developer who’d been charged by the president’s own Justice Department after allegedly rigging the bidding process for a sports arena.
While the White House often tries to justify controversial pardons by whining about Joe Biden, that wasn’t an option in this case: Leiweke was charged by a federal prosecutor appointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi as part of an investigation led in part by an FBI official appointed by Director Kash Patel.
A New York Times report on the developments added, “The White House did not immediately respond to a question on Wednesday about why Mr. Trump had pardoned someone who was prosecuted by his own administration.”
The underlying questions lingered, however, and The Wall Street Journal reported on the apparent answer:
Trump decided on the pardon after Republican former Rep. Trey Gowdy raised the case with him following a round of golf, according to people familiar with the matter. Leiweke had faced charges of rigging the bid for a $375 million basketball arena that was later built for the University of Texas. He had pleaded not guilty.
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 ground of golf with the president on Nov. 16, at which point Trump asked Gowdy if there was anything he needed. The former Republican congressman brought up his client, Leiweke, arguing that he’d been treated unfairly.
In the weeks that followed, the Journal added, Gowdy suggested that the Justice Department should give Leiweke a nonprosecution deal. The president went much further, issuing a pardon instead.
About a month ago, during a briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, “When it comes to pardons, the White House takes them with the utmost seriousness.” The president’s top spokesperson added that each pardon is subjected to “a very thorough review process,” conducted by a team of “qualified lawyers.” I continue to believe this is one of the most laughable claims Leavitt has ever made, and the circumstances surrounding the Leiweke pardon make clear that in this administration, “pardons” and “utmost seriousness” clearly do not belong in the same sentence. The Journal’s report on this case noted that prosecutors from Trump’s own administration had granted immunity to Leiweke’s partners to focus specifically on Leiweke. Instead, thanks to the president, prosecutors are walking away empty-handed in “the only criminal case targeting how the live-events industry works.” This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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