For the first time in his presidency, Donald Trump used his executive power to commute a prison sentence, and he has done so for kosher meatpacking executive Sholom Rubashkin, who had been serving a 27-year sentence for bank fraud.
“The President’s review of Mr. Rubashkin’s case and commutation decision were based on expressions of support from Members of Congress and a broad cross-section of the legal community,” the White House said in a statement on Wednesday.
Rubashkin was the CEO at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa, which was raided by federal agents nine years ago, according to The New York Times. During the raid, close to 400 undocumented immigrants, several of whom were children, had been detained, and Rubashkin was later convicted for bank fraud in 2009.
Rubashkin’s conviction was met with ire among the Jewish Orthodox community, as well as other prominent Jewish leaders and even some lawmakers. His 27-year sentence was looked at as too severe and not in fitting with other white-collar criminals, as the Times noted.
“Rubashkin has remained strong throughout his ordeal and convinced he would eventually obtain justice,” Guy R. Cook, Rubashkin’s lead trial lawyer told the Times. “Rubashkin and his family are overjoyed he is free and will be reunited with them.”
Several Republicans in the Senate signed their support for Trump’s commutation decision, including Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah and John Cornyn of Texas, the statement said. Among the most notable Democrats who supported Trump’s decision were House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and former Democratic National Committee chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida.
A commuted sentence differs from a pardon, and Rubashkin will still be required to “pay restitution and complete a term of supervised release,” the Times reported.
The reactions to Trump’s decision on Wednesday were mixed. Some pointed out that there was a hint of hypocrisy in the commutation, given Trump’s frequent anti-immigration rhetoric and policy agenda.
Rubashkin became well known in Iowa after a raid at his family's kosher meatpacking plant in Postville in 2008. ICE officials arrested almost 400 immigrants working in the country illegally. https://t.co/DpuKSnWeWr
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) December 20, 2017
Who is Sholom Rubashkin, the man who just received a commutation from Pres. Trump? @DMRegister says he ran a slaughterhouse in Iowa that employed 400+ migrants, who were in the country illegally. He was also convicted of bank fraud and money laundering. https://t.co/5JDdBUxGGU pic.twitter.com/NEk5LkXJOm
— Tom Dreisbach (@TomDreisbach) December 20, 2017
Feeling among Iowans who followed the Rubashkin case closely was that he was a crook who deserved to go to prison, but that the sentence was extreme. https://t.co/7xoASDsenN
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) December 20, 2017
Hard to capture the energy in Crown Heights after @realDonaldTrump commutes the sentence of Rubashkin. Tremendous sense of gratitude and appreciation to say the least.
— Daniel Mael (@DanielMael) December 21, 2017
This is a real Hanukkah miracle. I am proud to be a part of a large, bipartisan group of members of Congress who, along with over a hundred former senior justice officials, have been calling for Mr. Rubashkin’s release for the past eight years. https://t.co/nVEiuoyzEV
— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) December 20, 2017
