Gov. Hochul: Trump Needs To Show 'Remorse' For His Conviction If He Wants A Pardon

N.Y. Gov. Kathy Hochul attends a press conference on gun violence prevention and public safety on July 31, 2023 in New York City.

Democrat New York Governor Kathy Hochul demanded that President-elect Donald Trump would need to show remorse in the event that he wanted to receive a pardon for his felony conviction in the so-called “hush money” case.

However, Trump has vehemently maintained that it was a case of “political persecution.”

“There is a pardoning process in the state of New York. It is lengthy,” Hochul (D-N.Y.) stated in a news conference on Wednesday. “It requires a couple of elements. One is remorse.”

“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,” she continued. “So, no one gets extra favors, no one gets treated worse.”

Trump was previously convicted in March of 34 felony counts of allegedly falsifying business records, which prosecutors claimed was intended to hide his alleged affair with Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election. Trump denounced this theory as a “disgrace.”

“This was a disgrace. This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt,” Trump stated at the time.

“I was just convicted in a rigged political witch hunt trial: I did nothing wrong,” Trump added.

Trump argued that the Manhattan district attorney’s office provided the jury with five categories of evidence that were in conflict with the recent Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of presidential immunity.

Additionally, Trump’s recent efforts to have the case tossed based on the Supreme Court’s ruling was rejected by a New York judge.

Trump’s lawyers cited a social media post by Democrat Senator John Fetterman (D-Penn.), who argued that President Joe Biden should issue Trump a pardon, especially since Hunter Biden was just pardoned by his presidential father for his tax and firearms charges.

“Weaponizing the judiciary for blatant, partisan gain diminishes the collective faith in our institutions and sows further division,” Fetterman wrote.

Although Fetterman has called for Trump to be pardoned, the conviction took place in a state court, meaning a presidential pardon by Biden or Trump himself, would not apply.

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