President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is considering pardoning the men who were caught up in an FBI-backed plot to kidnap Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Fourteen men were originally charged over the plot to kidnap Whitmer from her Antrim County vacation home in 2020. Most were acquitted in the trial while two were convicted. The FBI was heavily criticized over its role in the plot and several defendants argued that FBI agents actively encouraged alleged participants to engage in illegal activity. (RELATED: FBI Informants Involved In Whitmer Kidnapping Debacle Allegedly Smoked Weed, Shared Hotel Room With Accused Plotter)
Two men were acquitted by a jury after they were alleged to have been involved in the plot after the defense argued that the FBI’s encouragement of the plan constituted entrapment.
“I will take a look at it. It’s been brought to my attention,” Trump said in the Oval Office after Jeanine Pirro was sworn in as U.S. Attorney in D.C.
“I did watch the trial. It looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job, I’ll be honest with you. It looked to me like some people said some stupid things,” he added.
Michael Hills, who previously represented acquitted defendant Brandon Caserta, said that the FBI’s conduct was “unconscionable” in April 2022, according to The Washington Post. Later, FBI Special Agent Mark Schweers testified that there were some meetings where FBI informants outnumbered those plotting the kidnapping, Fox 17 reported.
Defendants in the case also shared that FBI-affiliated individuals had encouraged militia members in planning the plot and facilitated certain interactions, making them a key part of the plot, BuzzFeed previously reported. Without the FBI’s influence, defendants believed that there never would have been a plot to kidnap Whitmer, BuzzFeed reported. (RELATED: FBI Informants Involved In Whitmer Kidnapping Debacle Allegedly Smoked Weed, Shared Hotel Room With Accused Plotter)
While testifying in front of Congress in August 2022, former FBI Director Christopher Wray admitted to Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz that the agent who headed the agency’s Detroit Field Office when FBI operatives allegedly entrapped the men into planning to kidnap Michigan’s governor had been put in charge of the D.C. Field Office.
“I’ll be honest with you, it looked to me like some people said some stupid things, you know? They were drinking and I think they said stupid things. But I will take a look at that. A lot of people are asking me that question, from both sides actually,” Trump told reporters Wednesday.
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