Another House member calls on New York Democratic Gov. Hochul to pardon Trump: ‘Your solemn duty’

FIRST ON FOX – Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., penned a letter to Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Thursday, demanding she pardon former President Trump following his conviction last month. The House Republican asserted the case “undermines the impartiality and credibility of our once venerable justice system and cannot be allowed to stand.” 

“As a member in good standing of the New York Bar Association, I urge you to pardon President Trump and restore trust in our legal system,” Tenney wrote in the letter, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital. “As every American knows, the justice system is designed to be impartial and blind. Individuals who commit crimes should be prosecuted. However, under Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s failed leadership, the Manhattan DA has not investigated crimes, but rather targeted individuals in search of crimes. This is not how the legal system is designed to work.

“Millions of Americans, even those who don’t support President Trump, would agree with my assessment of this case and fully support the pardoning of President Trump. This case fully undermines our system of justice and is nothing more than a partisan political prosecution,” Tenney wrote. “Even my Democratic colleague from Minnesota, Congressman Dean Phillips, has called on you to pardon President Trump. Pardoning President Trump is not a partisan issue, it’s an American issue that is necessary to preserve the integrity of our legal system.” 

Phillips, who previously posed a primary challenge to President Biden, said in an X post late last month that Hochul should pardon Trump “for the good of the country,” despite him believing 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.” 

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Tenney also called on Hochul to remove Alvin Bragg from his role as district attorney of Manhattan. 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks before President Biden delivers remarks at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum in Syracuse, N.Y., April 25, 2024.  (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds /AFP via Getty Images)

The congresswoman also suggested Bragg might have broken the law in pursuing the case against Trump. Bragg “used a warped version of events to push the manufactured charges in The People v. Trump,” a decision that, at best, is “legally questionable, at worst it’s criminal,” she wrote. 

In similar cases, Bragg “has neglected to prosecute other individuals, as his only purpose in bringing this case is to target the former President,” the letter says. “Targeting an individual, especially for political purposes, is unethical and unconstitutional.” 

The letter also asserts Bragg has “no business pursuing this case, which relied on fringe and meritless legal theories that were invented with the sole intent of prosecuting President Trump for political reasons.” 

Former President Trump leaves after addressing members of the media following the verdict in his hush money trial at Trump Tower May 31, 2024, in New York City.  (Getty Images)

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Tenney said her father was one of the longest serving New York State Supreme Court justices of New York who “served honorably for 35 years and people across New York witnessed firsthand what true and blind justice looks like.” The congresswoman said Bragg has “failed to uphold the high ethical standards required of a lawyer and a District Attorney.” 

“It is your solemn duty to protect the Constitutional rights of all defendants before our courts,” Tenney wrote to Hochul. “I now call on you as Governor of the State of New York to restore the integrity of our criminal justice system by pardoning former President Donald J. Trump and removing Alvin Bragg as District Attorney of New York County.” 

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg stands with members of his staff at a news conference following the conviction of former President Trump in his hush money trial May 30, 2024, in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul’s office for comment but did not immediately hear back. 

Trump completed a pre-sentencing interview via video conference privately with a probation officer on Monday, a mandatory step before the presumptive Republican nominee’s sentencing hearing July 11 before Judge Juan Merchan. Trump will be sentenced just four days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where the GOP will likely name him its official presidential nominee. 

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A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records from what prosecutors said was an attempt to hide a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. Trump’s attorneys have promised to appeal the conviction.