Senate Democrats blocked Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R., Ark.) resolution Thursday to condemn President Joe Biden’s decision to grant clemency to a former Pennsylvania judge who sent juveniles to prison in exchange for millions of dollars of kickbacks.
Cotton proposed the resolution regarding Biden’s reprieve for Michael Conahan, who was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison in what’s known as the “Kids for Cash” scandal. Cotton also cited a series of controversial commutations uncovered by the Washington Free Beacon—including for the “Black Widow,” who admitted to murdering three lovers for insurance money, a drug lord whose operation was linked to numerous overdose deaths, and a cancer doctor who diluted chemotherapy drugs as part of a Medicare scam.
“The cruelty of these commutations is only matched by the shameless incompetence of the administration that issued them,” Cotton said in a Senate floor speech.
But Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) objected to Cotton’s measure, while defending Biden and the prisoners he has now sprung from jail.
“President Biden’s commutations directed at a group of individuals who’ve demonstrated a commitment to rehabilitation are far more defensible than President Trump’s use of pardon power during his first term,” said Durbin, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. […]
— Read More: freebeacon.com