Tiger King Joe Exotic could be next for Trump pardon

Joe ‘Exotic’, the zookeeper of Netflix fame who’s serving 22 years in prison, could be next in line for a presidential pardon.

There’s a growing list of people seeking pardons from Donald Trump before he leaves office in January. Joe Exotic is pictured in a scene from the TV series, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. Picture: Netflix

The zookeeper made famous in the television series Tiger King, who is serving 22 years in prison, could be pardoned by President Trump.

Joe “Exotic” Maldonado-Passage, 57, was convicted last year of killing five tigers, selling cubs and trying to hire a hit man to murder an animal welfare activist.

Mr Trump is expected to issue a succession of pardons and commute sentences before he leaves office in January, something most presidents do before stepping down. Maldonado-Passage, right, could be on the list. His case became widely known through the series on Netflix this year, which delved into his colourful life and that of Carole Baskin, the conservationist he was convicted of trying to have killed. Friends of Maldonado-Passage have been campaigning for his release from prison in Texas.

They have appealed to the president’s eldest son, Donald Jr, and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, The New York Times reported. A group of them stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, running up an alleged $14,250 bill.

pic.twitter.com/YkAadroLf3

— Joe Exotic (@joe_exotic) November 13, 2020

@DonaldTrump @DonaldTrumpJr @realjimrathmann @FLOTUS @PressSecretary @IvankaTrump @EricTrump @VP @KarenPence @TedCruz @MarcoRubio @SeanHannity #PardonJoeExotic #JoeExotic #DoWhatsRight #FreeTheTigerKing pic.twitter.com/xXpVvPePym

— Joe Exotic (@joe_exotic) October 22, 2020

Mr Trump Jr joked in April that he would ask his father to pardon Maldonado-Passage. The president said: “I know nothing about it. He has 22 years for what?” A reporter explained and the president asked: “Do you think he did it? Are you on his side? Are you recommending a pardon?”

Under the US constitution the president can grant executive clemency, setting aside punishment for a federal crime. Pardons are not meant to exonerate the person, however. On Wednesday Mr Trump pardoned Michael Flynn, his former national security Adviser, who twice admitted lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts before trying to retract his plea. A queue has formed of those in Mr Trump’s circle pushing to be heard. Alan Dershowitz, a lawyer in Mr Trump’s impeachment defence team, said that he was considering seeking pardons for two clients: a North Carolina businessman sentenced to seven years for a bribery scheme, and a man from New Jersey sentenced to 20 years for a property Ponzi scheme.

Many of the president’s old allies are seeking pardons too. Rick Gates, Mr Trump’s 2016 deputy campaign chairman, who pleaded guilty to financial fraud and lying to investigators as part of the Mueller investigation, said that the president “knows how much those of us who worked for him have suffered”.

He was sentenced last year to 45 days in jail and three years probation.

The Times