Gov. Kathy Hochul has the power to pardon President-elect Donald Trump in his New York hush-money case.
But the governor said that Trump would have to show remorse.
“There is a pardoning process in the state of New York. It is lengthy,” Hochul said Wednesday at an unrelated news conference. “It requires a couple of elements. One is remorse.”
Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a bid to hide his alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump has denied the charges.
The Associated Press reported that Hochul was asked about a potential Trump pardon in light of the recent Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity that largely shields presidents from criminal prosecution.
“No one will be treated any better, or any worse, by me when I make those life altering decisions as we’re looking at petitions that are coming in throughout the year,” the governor said. “So, no one gets extra favors, no one gets treated worse.”
State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan refused to toss the conviction despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling.
Trump’s hush money conviction was in state court, so a presidential pardon — issued by President Joe Biden or by Trump himself when he takes office — would not apply to the case, the AP said. Presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes.
Prosecutors have indicated they would be open to delaying sentencing until Trump leaves the White House, but say the sentence should stand. It remains unclear when — or whether — a sentencing date might be set.
In a recent court filing, Trump’s lawyers cited a social media post in which Sen. John Fetterman slammed Trump’s hush money prosecution.
The Pennsylvania Democrat suggested that Trump deserved a pardon, comparing his case to that of Biden’s pardoned son Hunter Biden, who had been convicted of tax and gun charges.
“Weaponizing the judiciary for blatant, partisan gain diminishes the collective faith in our institutions and sows further division,” Fetterman wrote last week on Truth Social.
