Joe Exotic’s legal team has a meeting and a plan in progress as they make the final effort to obtain the pardon of the Tiger King star by President Donald Trump before he leaves office.
The group – led by Eric Love – is due to fly to Washington DC next Wednesday, January 6, for a ‘high-level’ meeting on their TMZ forgiveness petition on Thursday.
The publication claims that Love knows how to stroke the ego of the 45th U.S. president, as that day the House of Representatives will vote to ratify Joe Biden as the next president, while Trump, 74, is planning a demonstration.
Tiger King: Joe Exotic’s legal team has a meeting and a plan in progress as they make the final effort to get the Tiger King star to be forgiven by President Donald Trump before stepping down according to TMZ, like him was seen in August 2013
On the way out: The publication claims that Love knows how to stroke the ego of the 45th US president, as that day the House of Representatives will vote to ratify Joe Biden as the next president, while Trump, 74, is planning a demonstration
According to his informants, it is rumored that the commander-in-chief may forgive several people on January 6 to serve as a distraction so that the vote does not receive normal attention.
This came just a week after Exotic filed court documents rejecting his pardon process after learning that his request was received by the president.
The 57-year-old star of Netflix’s Tiger King series last week sued the U.S. Department of Justice for rejecting his official pardon request, claiming it was not valid because his petition was not filed directly with Trump.
The so-called Tiger King, real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage, withdrew his complaint after learning that Trump had received his petition, according to a TMZ article.
Interesting moment: this is just a week after Exotic filed court documents rejecting his pardon process after knowing that his request was received by the president
Maldonado-Passage’s lawyers, in their six-page complaint, accused the acting pardon lawyer Rosalind Sargent-Burns of not submitting the formal request, claiming that she was obliged to do so.
The complaint also cited Donald Trump Jr., 42, as a supporter.
“Many people have spoken out and publicly expressed their disagreement with Joe Exotic’s conviction and the subsequent sentence. Among them are members of the president’s own family. Donald Trump Junior defended Joe Exotic’s forgiveness, the complaint said, according to the New York Post.
Maldonado-Passage is serving a 22-year prison sentence for plotting to kill feline rights activist Carole Baskin, 59.
Request received: President of the United States, Donald Trump, shown in November at the White House, received a request for forgiveness from Joseph Maldonado-Passage aka the Tiger King
He was also convicted in 2019 on eight counts of violating the Lacey Act for falsifying wildlife records and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act.
Maldonado-Passage sought out reality show star Kim Kardashian, 40, to help him reach Trump.
In September, he wrote a letter to the president begging for an early release from prison, while his representatives spent about $ 10,000 at the Trump’s hotel in Washington, DC, in an attempt to help his cause.
Netflix star: Netflix documentary Tiger King aired in March amid the coronavirus pandemic and became one of the most watched programs on the streaming service
Earlier this year, Trump said he would consider granting a pardon to Maldonado-Passage after his son Donald Trump Jr. brought the case to him.
“I’m going to take a look,” he told reporters in April.
Trump issued a series of pardons and commutations on Tuesday benefiting former members of Congress convicted of corruption charges, two people indicted in the Russian investigation that obscured his presidency and four former government contractors convicted in a 2007 Baghdad massacre which left more than a dozen Iraqi civilians dead.
Supporters of ex-Blackwater Worldwide contractors lobbied for pardons, arguing that the men were excessively punished in an investigation and prosecution they said was contaminated. All four served long prison terms.
The Blackwater company was founded by Erik Prince, a Trump ally and brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. It has since been renamed.
Last days: Trump, shown earlier this month at the White House, issued a series of pardons and commutations on Tuesday benefiting former members of Congress convicted of corruption charges, two people indicted in the Russian investigation that obscured his presidency and four former – government contractors convicted in a 2007 Baghdad massacre that left more than a dozen Iraqi civilians dead