Happening Now – Obama Judge Delivers Bombshell Ruling In Key Case

A fourth federal judge has reportedly dismissed a request for restitution repayment filed by a January 6 defendant who had received a pardon from President Donald Trump. The decision has contributed to a pattern of judicial resistance within Washington, D.C., against efforts to provide relief to individuals pardoned in connection with the Capitol protest.

The latest rejection involved a Texas man identified by the Department of Justice as having posted images and footage of himself inside the Capitol during the 2021 incident. According to Law & Crime, the defendant, Stacy Hager, had requested a refund of $570 in restitution following his 2023 conviction on four misdemeanor charges. Hager had been among those granted clemency under President Trump’s sweeping effort to offer justice to over 1,500 January 6 defendants.

While federal prosecutors supported reimbursing Hager, arguing that retaining the funds lacked legal basis, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan disagreed. She maintained that the court had no legal authority to compel the return of money already granted, referencing rulings from fellow judges in the same district, among them Chief Judge James Boasberg and Judges Royce Lamberth and Randolph Moss, to justify her position.

In her three-page order, issued last Thursday, Judge Chutkan leaned heavily on precedent, particularly the Supreme Court’s 1877 ruling in Knote v. United States. That decision emphasized that a presidential pardon functions as a gesture of mercy rather than a mechanism to restore assets already transferred to the state or other recipients. The legal reasoning held that once restitution payments had been made, those funds were deemed lawfully vested and beyond the reach of post-conviction relief, unless Congress authorized otherwise.

While the Justice Department noted that Hager’s case had been vacated on appeal, distinguishing it from typical pardons, the court determined that this distinction was insufficient to mandate a refund. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Dreher contended that Hager’s vacated conviction eliminated any legal basis for the government to retain the payment, but the court disagreed.

Hager’s request, submitted in February, included a plea for reimbursement of fines, fees, and restitution. However, Judge Chutkan concluded that, under the binding precedent, the court lacked jurisdiction to compel the return of those funds, even when the conviction itself had been nullified.

Many Republicans have continued to point out discrepancies and disproportionate charges brought under the Biden Justice Department, while Democrats have criticized President Trump’s decision to pardon many January 6 participants. Several people convicted of non-violent offenses who had been held for extended periods of time without trial or bail despite just being charged with misdemeanors were among those who were given mercy.

The ongoing pushback by federal judges in D.C. reflects an entrenched legal posture that appears unwilling to extend post-pardon restitution relief—even in cases where the underlying conviction has been erased. This stance is likely to raise further concerns about fairness in the application of justice for those associated with the Capitol protest.

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