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The
commutation granted to Sholom Rubashkin, 57, marked only the
second time that Trump has invoked his clemency authority as
president, following the blanket pardon he granted earlier this
year to Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa County in
Arizona.
Unlike the case of Arpaio, whom a judge had found guilty of
contempt in a case involving racial profiling, Trump's latest
action leaves Rubashkin's conviction intact, as well as terms of
his supervised release from federal prison and his obligation to
make restitution.
Rubashkin was convicted in 2009 of 86 counts of financial fraud
that came to light after a government raid on a kosher
meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, where hundreds of
undocumented immigrant workers were arrested.
Rubashkin, a father of 10, was the chief executive overseeing
the slaughterhouse and headquarters for a family business that
was then the largest kosher meat-processing company in the
United States.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 refused to hear an appeal
contesting Rubashkin's sentence, which his lawyers argued was
excessive for a first-time, non-violent offender.
His lawyers also contended, to no avail, that he was entitled to
a new trial based on evidence of alleged judicial misconduct.
The case sparked an outcry from members of the legal and
Orthodox Jewish communities who rallied to Rubashkin's defense.
The White House statement cited letters of support for review of
Rubashkin's case from more than 30 members of Congress of both
parties, including House of Representatives Democratic leader
Nancy Pelosi and veteran Republican Senator Orrin Hatch.
Trump also pointed to bipartisan expressions of support for
review of the case from over 100 former high-ranking U.S.
Justice Department officials, prosecutors, judges and legal
scholars.
The White House further noted criticism of Rubashkin's
sentencing as unusually harsh in comparison to penalties imposed
on others for similar white-collar crimes.
Former Enron chief executive Jeffrey Skilling was originally
sentenced to 24 years in prison, but a federal judge later
shortened his term of 14 years. The former CEO of Tyco
International Ltd, L. Dennis Kozlowski, was sentenced to 8-1/3
to 25 years in prison and was paroled after serving eight.
(Reporting by Roberta Rampton in Washington; Additional
reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by
Leslie Adler)
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