Republican Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey–who is retiring at the end of his term in 2022–said on “Fox News Sunday” that lame duck president Donald Trump’s issuance of pardons to political allies is a “misuse of power,” Politico reports.
While he defended the pardon to former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, saying that Flynn was wrongfully prosecuted, Toomey said many other pardons were improper political favors to Trump friends.
“I mean, my goodness, we have tax fraud and bank fraud, witness tampering, obstruction of justice, but because they were close to the president they got pardoned,” he said.
Toomey did not mention Trump’s pardon to four Blackwater military contractors who were convicted of killing 17 unarmed Iraqi civilians, nor did he mention Flynn’s calls to undermine the 2020 presidential election with the use of military force.
Editor’s note: the story correct a misstatement that Toomey is running for reelection in 2022. In fact, he announced his retirement.