In recent developments, the NAACP and 14 other civil rights organizations have urged President Joe Biden to grant a presidential pardon to Marilyn Mosby, a former state’s attorney for Baltimore, who was convicted of mortgage fraud and perjury charges related to her attempts to secure lower interest rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mosby was found guilty in both February and November 2023 and faces up to 40 years in prison at her sentencing on May 23rd.
The letter written by these organizations argues that Mosby was subjected to “political” and “malicious” prosecution by the previous Trump administration’s Department of Justice. According to the letter, the current administration’s Department of Justice ignored the politically motivated nature of the charges against Mosby.
The NAACP claims that while Mosby continued to earn her full salary, she still met an objective standard for withdrawing funds from her retirement plan to cope with the financial impacts of the pandemic. This statement contradicts the Department of Justice’s argument that Mosby did not need to withdraw funds from her retirement plan.
The letter highlights that while there were 739 people who withdrew funds from their retirement plans without facing charges, Mosby was the sole individual charged in her case. The letter also mentions that two months after Trump threatened to send federal agents to Baltimore during the George Floyd protests, Mosby announced her intention to prosecute any federal officials engaging in wrongful activity.
The organization asserts that these charges are a “miscarriage of justice” and attribute them to the misuse of power by the previous Trump administration. However, it is crucial to note that the charges were instituted by Democratic U.S. Attorney Erek Barron, and the case has been handled by Biden-nominated U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby.
Over the past few weeks, Mosby has led an online petition demanding a pardon from President Biden, which has garnered around 9,000 signatures thus far.
In a separate development, the Georgia Court of Appeals agreed to review an appeal launched by Donald Trump and other defendants seeking to dismiss District Attorney Fani Willis from the 2020 election subversion case. The court’s decision to hear this appeal comes after Judge Scott McAfee ruled that Willis may continue working on the case despite accusations of political motivations.
In a statement, Trump’s lead attorney, Steve Sadow, affirmed that the former president awaits the opportunity to present arguments to the appeals court regarding Willis’ alleged misconduct and the unjustified and unwarranted political persecution in this matter.
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