President Donald Trump was asked an unexpected question during the White Houseâs coronavirus press briefing.
During Wednesdayâs press briefing, a New York Post reporter asked the president if he would consider a pardon for Joseph Maldonado-Passage, known as Joe Exotic.
Maldonado-Passage was found guilty in January for a 2017 murder-to-hire plot to kill an animal rights activist, Carole Baskin.
He was âfound guilty of nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Actâ and âconvicted on another eight counts of violations to the Lacey Act for falsifying wildlife records for âinterstateâ transactions,â as NBC News reports. The former wildlife park owner was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison.
Asked if he would consider a pardon for the Netflix star of the documentary series âTiger King,â Trump said, âI donât know, I know nothing about it.â
The reporter pointed out Trumpâs son, Donald Trump Jr., recently spoke about this during an interview on SiriusXMâs âJim Norton and Sam Robertsâ radio show. Donald Trump Jr. joked about lobbying for a pardon for âJoe Exotic,â though he noted that he did not âeven know exactly what he was charged with.â
The reporter continued to discuss the topic with the president, to which the president responded, âDo you think he didnât do it? Are you on his side? Are you recommending a pardon? As a reporter, youâre not allowed to do that, youâd be criticized by these .â
President Donald Trump then turned to another reporter to ask, âWould you recommend a pardon?â The reporter responded, âIâm not weighing in.â
âIâll take a look,â the president then said.
See the exchange below:
The question by the reporter during the time of a pandemic drew reaction on Twitter, including from MSNBCâs Joy Reid.
https://twitter.com/RadioFreeTom/status/1248012902889476097
https://twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/1248102405151117313
âStill processing the fact that some reporter at the latest âpresidential coronavirus briefingâ actually asked Trump if he would pardon the guy from Tiger King,â Reid wrote. âThis season of The Presidential Apprentice is really awful.â
