Trump Says He'll Look Into Requests for Pardons in Whitmer Kidnapping Case

‘I’ll take a look at that,‘ the president says, adding that the trial seemed to be ’somewhat of a railroad job.’

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks during the last day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 22, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

President Donald Trump on May 28 said he'll look into whether presidential pardons are appropriate for the men convicted in a 2020 kidnapping plot targeting Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, in responding to a question from a Detroit News reporter in the Oval Office.

“They were drinking, and I think they said stupid things. I'll take a look at that,” Trump said, without committing one way or another. “And a lot of people are asking me that question from both sides.”

Three men were convicted in October 2022 in connection with a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor. They were in uproar about what they considered harsh restrictions imposed on the state by Whitmer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Paul Bellar, Joseph Morrison, and Morrison’s father-in-law Pete Musico, were found guilty of providing material support for terrorist acts, membership in a gang, and carrying or possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony following their jury trial. 

The president said that from watching the trial, it appeared to him like those accused had faced was “somewhat of a railroad job.” 

Trump added, “I’ll be honest with you, it looked to me like some people said some stupid things, you know.”

The individuals convicted, all members of the self-dubbed Wolverine Watchmen group, were said by FBI agents involved in the case to have been spurred to action due to political ideology.

Special agent Mara Schneider, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, responded to the verdicts at the time they were handed down. “These defendants believed violence was an appropriate way to address an ideological grievance. Today’s verdict sends a clear message they were wrong.”

The Epoch Times has reached out to Whitmer’s office for comment.

Other Pardons

This news comes on the heels of a full pardon announced by Trump for former Culpeper County, Virginia Sheriff Scott Jenkins, and reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley. 

President Donald Trump made headlines on Memorial Day with his pardon of former Virginia sheriff Scott Jenkins, who was convicted on federal bribery charges last year. 

In announcing the pardon, Trump called Jenkins, formerly the sheriff of Culpeper County, Virginia, a “victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice.”

Jenkins was indicted on 16 counts, which included conspiracy, wire fraud, and bribery, all relating to programs receiving federal funds. 

Just one day later, on May 27, news broke that Trump planned to grant pardons for Julie and Todd Chrisley, who were convicted in 2022 of bank fraud, tax evasion, and other financial crimes.

Trump said that the couple “was given pretty harsh treatment ... I hear they’re terrific people, this should not have happened.”

This comes just weeks after a May 13 announcement that the president commissioned his newly appointed pardon attorney, Ed Martin, to investigate the pardons former President Joe Biden issued before leaving office in January. 

“I do think that the Biden pardons need some scrutiny,“ Martin told reporters during a press briefing in Washington at the time. ”And they need scrutiny because we want pardons to matter and to be accepted and to be something that’s used correctly.”

Joseph Lord and Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.