President Donald Trump has decided to commute the sentence of a man who played a role in Republican efforts to impeach former President Joe Biden while already serving a lengthy prison term for defrauding Native Americans and other investors.
A notice of clemency for Jason Galanis was quietly released by the Department of Justice, with the president signing the order without any public announcement.
Controversial Clemency Decisions
Galanis, the second associate of Hunter Biden who testified in the Republican impeachment inquiry, is among those who have received clemency from Trump in recent days. The president has frequently utilized his executive power to grant favors to allies or individuals he believes were unfairly targeted by federal law enforcement.
The White House has not provided a detailed explanation for the decision to grant clemency to Galanis, who was handed a 14-year and five-month sentence in August 2017 for his involvement in a bond scheme that defrauded the Oglala Sioux tribe and pension fund investors of millions of dollars.
According to Audrey Strauss, the then-acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Galanis and his codefendants engaged in market manipulation and defrauded shareholders, diverting a significant portion of the funds from tribal bonds meant for economic development projects. The magnitude and extent of his crimes were reflected in the lengthy prison term imposed on him.
Financial Penalties Waived
In addition to absolving Galanis of the remainder of his prison term, Trump’s clemency order also spares him from the financial penalties imposed at sentencing, which included forfeiting around $80 million in proceeds and paying an equal amount in restitution.
Last week, Trump also pardoned Devon Archer, who was involved in the same fraud scheme with Galanis and testified in the impeachment inquiry. Galanis, who had sought a pardon unsuccessfully during Trump’s first term, provided testimony from prison to the House impeachment inquiry, alleging that he had enlisted Hunter Biden in his business to leverage the son’s political connections.
While Hunter Biden acknowledged a brief encounter with Galanis a decade prior, he distanced himself from any involvement in the fraud scheme. The impeachment effort against President Biden, spearheaded by Rep. James Comer, did not implicate Hunter Biden, and ultimately came to naught.
