White House challenges House Democrats' report Trump pardons cost $1.3B in unrealized restitution

President Trump's pardons allowed $1.3 billion in restitution to go unpaid, according to a report by Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee.

The report released Tuesday reviewed court records for the crimes that were pardoned, which include those in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, The Hill news outlet reported.

“Not only has President Trump issued an unprecedented number of pardons in his second term, he has used his clemency powers to take an estimated $1.3 billion away from victims and survivors of crime, allowing perpetrators to keep profiting from their crimes,” the report states.

People convicted of crimes are often ordered to pay fines as part of their sentencing, which are channeled into funds to offer compensation to victims in addition to covering costs that taxpayers bear.

“At the time President Trump pardoned the January 6th insurrectionists, only 15% of the $3 million in restitution ordered to victims had been paid, with the remaining $2.6 million due suddenly liquidated by the President’s pardons,” according to the report.

White House spokesman Harrison Fields responded to the report by saying; "President Trump is righting the wrongs of political prosecutions and providing justice after careful consideration of thoroughly vetted cases presented to him."  

He also said Democrats "were conveniently silent" when President Biden "pardoned his tax-cheating son, and they have no standing to cry foul now," according to CBS News. 

“Of course it’s not just violent, cop-beating extremists in President Trump’s private mob-and-militia who have been pardoned. With a far greater financial effect, President Trump’s pardon spree has also swept in big-time corporate fraudsters, millionaire tax evaders, and other white-collar criminals. Thanks to President Trump’s pardons, these convicted criminals now get to keep $1.3 billion in ill-gotten gains they stole from their victims and American taxpayers,” the Democrats' report reads.

Trump has the power to offer conditional pardons, which would still require those who receive them to pay all outstanding restitution.