Source: Paras Griffin / Getty
The move by President Joe Biden to pardon his son Hunter Biden has led advocates to make their case for former prosecutor Marilyn Mosby to receive a pardon as well.
The decision by President Joe Biden to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, earlier this week after previously stating he wouldn’t, has prompted advocates representing the former Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to request one for her. “It is time for Joe Biden to pardon Marilyn Mosby,” said civil rights attorney and media figure Angela Rye, who is working on Mosby’s legal team. Mosby, who rose to prominence in 2015 for charging six Baltimore police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, Jr., was convicted of mortgage fraud and perjury earlier in the year. Critics of the decision have maintained that the prosecution was politically motivated due to her racial justice policies.
“There are thousands of people who have been wrongfully convicted and sit in federal prisons today. While Hunter Biden was selectively prosecuted, he’s not the only one,” Rye said in a joint statement with attorney Ben Crump, who is also working with Mosby’s legal team. They point out that the application for Mosby’s pardon is still with the Department of Justice with proof of “receipt of the application on May 28.” That request is accompanied by 91,000 signatures petitioning the government for Mosby to be pardoned. The former attorney was on home detention after being sentenced and has appealed the decision. The Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland called for her law license to be suspended, but the Maryland Supreme Court dismissed that request.
“Marilyn Mosby is on house arrest right now with her law license hanging in the balance over purchasing property with her own money. Kim Gardner (the former East St. Louis prosecutor) was forced into taking a plea deal for a $5000 expense that was approved in an ethics opinion,” Crump and Rye wrote. They cited similarities in the two situations – the lead prosecutor in Mosby’s case, Leo Wise, also successfully brought charges against Hunter Biden for the purchase and possession of a firearm in 2018 and on federal tax charges. They also pointed out that the basis for Hunter’s pardon can be applied – selective prosecution. “They need to find a rule and equally apply it,” Rye stated.
