Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) has become the first Senate Democrat to join President-elect Donald Trump’s social media site — and used his first post to again call for Trump to be pardoned in his hush money case.
“The Trump hush money and Hunter Biden cases were both bullshit, and pardons are appropriate,” the Pennsylvania senator wrote on Tuesday. “Weaponizing the judiciary for blatant, partisan gain diminishes the collective faith in our institutions and sows further division.”
Last week, Fetterman made a similar argument on “The View.”
“I think that it’s undeniable that the case against Hunter Biden was really politically motivated, but I also think it’s true that the trial in New York for Trump — that was political, as well,” Fetterman told the hosts.
“In both cases, I think a pardon is appropriate and I really think, collectively, that American’s confidence in these kinds of institutions [has] been damaged by these kinds of cases, and we cannot allow these kinds of institutions to be weaponized against our political opponents,” he added.
Trump received a 34-count guilty verdict in the criminal hush money case in May, in a case over his payment of $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of his 2016 presidential victory. He is the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes, though he’s not been sentenced.
President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter earlier this month after he was found guilty of illegally owning a gun and pleaded guilty to not paying his taxes on time. Hunter Biden, like Trump, has also not yet been sentenced.
The pardon drew backlash from both Republicans and Democrats. Moreover, Biden’s pardon was cited by Trump’s attorneys when arguing that Trump’s convictions in the hush money case should be dropped. Prosecutors have maintained that the convictions should stand.
Fetterman is far from the first high-profile Democrat to join Truth Social; Gov. Gavin Newsom, for example, joined back in 2022.
