During an appearance on Fox News this Wednesday, White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley addressed President Trump's recent pardons and commutations, specifically the commutation of Rod Blagojevich, suggesting it was done in an effort to clamp down on "aggressive sentencing" by prosecutors.
"The fact is, the president is clearly against excessive sentencing," Gidley said. "Whether it's Rod Blagojevich or Alice Johnson, he's focused on making sure people who serve time in prison, who have rehabilitated, who show regret and show remorse, don't have to rot away in a jail cell their whole life."
According to the Daily Beast's Molly Jong-Fast, the claim that Trump's actions were an effort to combat legal injustices in general is hard to believe, considering that he's suggested draconian measures against offenses such as drug dealing in the past.
Others agreed:
