Wall Street Journal) -- The Justice Department is taking a broader view of
President Trump's pardons of Jan. 6 defendants, concluding that the sweeping
clemency should also extend to separate conduct uncovered in searches stemming
from the Capitol attack.
The approach embraces an argument advanced by some pardoned Jan. 6 defendants
who, while absolved of crimes connected to Capitol riot, have still faced
charges or prison terms in other federal cases.
On Tuesday, the Justice Department said Trump's pardon covers the conviction
of an Oath Keepers member on charges he unlawfully kept grenades and
classified material from his time in the military. The move came at the urging
of top Trump White House officials, according to people familiar with the
matter.
In September 2021, federal agents found two grenades, a sawed-off shotgun and
a classified document in an RV as they arrested Jeremy Brown on misdemeanor
Jan. 6 charges.
Brown's Jan. 6 charges were pending and then dropped after Trump took office
and pardoned nearly all of the roughly 1,500 charged in the Capitol attack. In
Florida, however, a jury had found Brown guilty, and a judge sentenced him to
more than seven years in prison, for unlawful possession of weapons and a
classified military report.
During his trial, an official from U.S. Central Command testified that, if
disclosed, the classified material found in the RV could have led to the
arrest, torture and killing of a confidential source discussed in the
document, according to a court filing.
Brown's bid for release became a cause célèbre among prominent Trump allies,
including Roger Stone, who posted on his website that Brown was "being denied
his freedom due to the decision by rogue federal agents to keep him in prison
in direct opposition" to Trump's pardon.
The federal government agrees the pardon applies to Brown.
"Based on consultation with Department of Justice leadership, it is the
position of the United States that the offenses of conviction in this case are
intended to be covered by this Pardon," a federal prosecutor in Florida wrote
Tuesday.
In recent days, the Justice Department cited Trump's pardon to clear the names
of other Jan. 6 defendants who also faced additional prosecutions beyond those
directly tied to the Capitol attack.
Federal prosecutors in Florida, for instance, moved to dismiss a firearms
charge against Daniel Ball that stemmed from a search connected to alleged
Jan. 6 crimes that were pending when Trump pardoned him.
Ball was charged with illegally possessing a gun and ammunition given prior
felony convictions, including for domestic-violence battery by strangulation,
court records show. His lawyer, Amy Collins, had urged prosecutors to dismiss
the firearms charge, saying in an interview it "only came about because of the
Jan. 6 case."
As recently as Feb. 14, prosecutors disagreed, with a spokeswoman for the U.S.
Attorney's Office in Tampa, saying, "the pardon does not apply to Mr. Ball's
conduct in the Middle District of Florida."
A week later, though, the office moved to dismiss Ball's indictment. In a
motion filed Feb. 20, prosecutors cited the presidential pardon but didn't
explain the change of position. The spokeswoman said Monday the office had no
further comment. A judge on Tuesday dismissed the case.
Also last week, the Justice Department moved to immediately end the one-year
prison term that Elias Costianes received after pleading guilty in Maryland
federal court to unlawfully possessing a firearm. The Federal Bureau of
Investigation discovered the firearm at issue when it went to arrest Costianes
on charges related to the Capitol attack.
"After consulting with the Department of Justice's leadership, the United
States has concluded that the President pardoned Mr. Costianes of the offenses
in the indictment," wrote an assistant U.S. attorney in a court filing.
Federal prosecutors in Washington also reversed course in the case of Kentucky
resident Dan Wilson, telling a judge his pardon does in fact apply to his
firearm convictions.
Earlier this month, the government argued otherwise. Its Feb. 6 court filing
noted the presidential-pardon certificate said it applied only to "convictions
for offenses related to events that occurred at or near" the Capitol on Jan.
6, 2021. Court records show the firearms crimes to which Wilson pleaded guilty
took place in Kentucky in 2022, when six guns -- two lacking visible serial
numbers -- and about 4,800 rounds of ammunition were seized during a search of
Wilson's home related to the Jan. 6 investigation.
"Thus, by the plain language of the certificate," a prosecutor wrote, "the
pardon does not extend to these convictions."
U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, a Trump appointee, agreed and said
Wilson would have to resume serving a five-year prison sentence for the
firearms convictions.
But on Tuesday, the same prosecutor from the Feb. 6 filing said the government
had received "further clarity" on the pardon's intent, and wrote, "the
Presidential Pardon includes a pardon for the firearm convictions...similar to
other defendants in which the government has made comparable motions."
The matter now rests with the judge.
"I commend the U.S. Attorney's Office for the courage in reversing their
position," said George Pallas, Wilson's lawyer. "President Trump has kept his
promise to not leave any January 6th protester behind."
At the same time, the Justice Department is fighting an attempt by a Tennessee
man to erase his November conviction for conspiring to murder law-enforcement
officers who investigated his Jan. 6 participation.
Edward Kelley was pardoned by Trump for assaulting police at the Capitol and
now argues the November conviction should be set aside as a result.
Federal prosecutors in a court filing wrote Kelly should be sentenced as
scheduled: "This case is about the defendant's entirely independent criminal
conduct in Tennessee, in late 2022, more than 500 miles away from the
Capitol."
President Trump's pardons of Jan. 6 defendants, concluding that the sweeping
clemency should also extend to separate conduct uncovered in searches stemming
from the Capitol attack.
The approach embraces an argument advanced by some pardoned Jan. 6 defendants
who, while absolved of crimes connected to Capitol riot, have still faced
charges or prison terms in other federal cases.
On Tuesday, the Justice Department said Trump's pardon covers the conviction
of an Oath Keepers member on charges he unlawfully kept grenades and
classified material from his time in the military. The move came at the urging
of top Trump White House officials, according to people familiar with the
matter.
In September 2021, federal agents found two grenades, a sawed-off shotgun and
a classified document in an RV as they arrested Jeremy Brown on misdemeanor
Jan. 6 charges.
Brown's Jan. 6 charges were pending and then dropped after Trump took office
and pardoned nearly all of the roughly 1,500 charged in the Capitol attack. In
Florida, however, a jury had found Brown guilty, and a judge sentenced him to
more than seven years in prison, for unlawful possession of weapons and a
classified military report.
During his trial, an official from U.S. Central Command testified that, if
disclosed, the classified material found in the RV could have led to the
arrest, torture and killing of a confidential source discussed in the
document, according to a court filing.
Brown's bid for release became a cause célèbre among prominent Trump allies,
including Roger Stone, who posted on his website that Brown was "being denied
his freedom due to the decision by rogue federal agents to keep him in prison
in direct opposition" to Trump's pardon.
The federal government agrees the pardon applies to Brown.
"Based on consultation with Department of Justice leadership, it is the
position of the United States that the offenses of conviction in this case are
intended to be covered by this Pardon," a federal prosecutor in Florida wrote
Tuesday.
In recent days, the Justice Department cited Trump's pardon to clear the names
of other Jan. 6 defendants who also faced additional prosecutions beyond those
directly tied to the Capitol attack.
Federal prosecutors in Florida, for instance, moved to dismiss a firearms
charge against Daniel Ball that stemmed from a search connected to alleged
Jan. 6 crimes that were pending when Trump pardoned him.
Ball was charged with illegally possessing a gun and ammunition given prior
felony convictions, including for domestic-violence battery by strangulation,
court records show. His lawyer, Amy Collins, had urged prosecutors to dismiss
the firearms charge, saying in an interview it "only came about because of the
Jan. 6 case."
As recently as Feb. 14, prosecutors disagreed, with a spokeswoman for the U.S.
Attorney's Office in Tampa, saying, "the pardon does not apply to Mr. Ball's
conduct in the Middle District of Florida."
A week later, though, the office moved to dismiss Ball's indictment. In a
motion filed Feb. 20, prosecutors cited the presidential pardon but didn't
explain the change of position. The spokeswoman said Monday the office had no
further comment. A judge on Tuesday dismissed the case.
Also last week, the Justice Department moved to immediately end the one-year
prison term that Elias Costianes received after pleading guilty in Maryland
federal court to unlawfully possessing a firearm. The Federal Bureau of
Investigation discovered the firearm at issue when it went to arrest Costianes
on charges related to the Capitol attack.
"After consulting with the Department of Justice's leadership, the United
States has concluded that the President pardoned Mr. Costianes of the offenses
in the indictment," wrote an assistant U.S. attorney in a court filing.
Federal prosecutors in Washington also reversed course in the case of Kentucky
resident Dan Wilson, telling a judge his pardon does in fact apply to his
firearm convictions.
Earlier this month, the government argued otherwise. Its Feb. 6 court filing
noted the presidential-pardon certificate said it applied only to "convictions
for offenses related to events that occurred at or near" the Capitol on Jan.
6, 2021. Court records show the firearms crimes to which Wilson pleaded guilty
took place in Kentucky in 2022, when six guns -- two lacking visible serial
numbers -- and about 4,800 rounds of ammunition were seized during a search of
Wilson's home related to the Jan. 6 investigation.
"Thus, by the plain language of the certificate," a prosecutor wrote, "the
pardon does not extend to these convictions."
U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, a Trump appointee, agreed and said
Wilson would have to resume serving a five-year prison sentence for the
firearms convictions.
But on Tuesday, the same prosecutor from the Feb. 6 filing said the government
had received "further clarity" on the pardon's intent, and wrote, "the
Presidential Pardon includes a pardon for the firearm convictions...similar to
other defendants in which the government has made comparable motions."
The matter now rests with the judge.
"I commend the U.S. Attorney's Office for the courage in reversing their
position," said George Pallas, Wilson's lawyer. "President Trump has kept his
promise to not leave any January 6th protester behind."
At the same time, the Justice Department is fighting an attempt by a Tennessee
man to erase his November conviction for conspiring to murder law-enforcement
officers who investigated his Jan. 6 participation.
Edward Kelley was pardoned by Trump for assaulting police at the Capitol and
now argues the November conviction should be set aside as a result.
Federal prosecutors in a court filing wrote Kelly should be sentenced as
scheduled: "This case is about the defendant's entirely independent criminal
conduct in Tennessee, in late 2022, more than 500 miles away from the
Capitol."
