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“Although the email conceded that the President had the ultimate authority to make a decision on the pardon, the email nevertheless implied that the Office of the Pardon Attorney was not sending the recommendation to the President and instead was usurping the role of final decision maker on the pardon,” the six-page complaint states.
Exotic says his attorneys responded that the office is required under federal regulations to forward the pardon application to the president for him to decide.
“In response to this reminder, William Taylor, with the US Pardon Attorney Office, acknowledged the President’s plenary power,” the complaint states. “However, the US Pardon Attorney Office has yet to forward the pardon with a recommendation to the president.”
In this Aug. 28, 2013, file photo, the late Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic, answers a question during an interview at the zoo he runs in Wynnewood, Okla. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
FORT WORTH, Texas (CN) Imprisoned “Tiger King” docuseries star Joe Exotic sued the Justice Department Wednesday, disputing a rejection of his pardon application because it was not presented directly to President Donald Trump.
Joseph Maldonado-Passage, 57, sued the U.S. Office of the Pardon Attorney in federal court in Fort Worth. He is currently an inmate at the nearby Federal Medical Center Fort Worth.
He was convicted in 2019 on two counts of murder-for-hire, eight counts of violating the Lacey Act for falsifying wildlife records and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act.
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