Democratic Representative Dean Phillips suggests Trump should be pardoned “for the benefit of the nation”

Former Democrat presidential primary candidate Rep. Dean Phillip, D-Minn., is urging New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul to pardon presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump “for the good of the country.”

“Donald Trump is a serial liar, cheater, and philanderer, a six-time declarer of corporate bankruptcy, an instigator of insurrection, and a convicted felon who thrives on portraying himself as a victim,” Phillips wrote on X. “@GovKathyHochul should pardon him for the good of the country.”

While President Joe Biden has the authority over federal pardons, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records in a state-level case, which falls under the jurisdiction of Hochul and New York State.

“Today’s verdict reaffirms that no one is above the law,” Hochul stated shortly after the verdict on Thursday, indicating that a pardon is unlikely.

In response to the conviction, Trump has remained defiant and has been fundraising for his presidential campaign. Sentencing by Democrat Judge Juan Merchan is scheduled for June 11, just days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Trump was expected to be officially named the GOP nominee against Biden.

Trump has criticized the verdict and described the use of justice against him as a “fascist state.”

Despite this conviction, Trump still faces three other indictments in Democrat-heavy areas like Fulton County, Georgia, Washington, D.C., and South Florida. Legal experts believe the Manhattan case is the weakest of the indictments, but the outcome was affected by jury instructions that experts say favored the Democrat-controlled New York jury.

Before the verdict, Trump had expressed concerns about the fairness of the judge and jury in Manhattan, stating “Mother Teresa could not beat” the politically biased individuals.