(LEX 18) — A released statement from President Joe Biden revealed that Former Kentucky State Representative Jerry Lundergan has been pardoned after he was convicted on federal campaign finance charges in 2020.
The statement from Biden read as follows:
"I am issuing pardons to Gerald G. Lundergan and Ernest William Cromartie. I am also commuting the life sentence imposed on Leonard Peltier so that he serves the remainder of his sentence in home confinement."
According to the statement, Biden also pardoned his family just before Donald Trump's inauguration began.
"The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that they engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense," the statement read.
Lundergan, the former Kentucky Democratic Party chair, was convicted in 2018 for the contributions made through a corporation to his daughter Alison Lundergan Grimes in her 2014 challenge against Sen. Mitch McConnell.
He reported to prison in November 2021. Lundergan was released from custody in January 2023 without serving his full sentence.
Lundergan's attorney J. Guthrie True provided a press release that contained the following statement from Lundergan regarding his pardon:
"I have taken responsibility for my actions, sought atonement, and am working to make a positive difference in the lives of the most vulnerable, including the homeless, those recovering from addiction, and those re-entering society. I am grateful for the President’s action; it offers healing to my family and confirms that our justice system is grounded in forgiveness."
"I’m pleased beyond measure for Jerry and his family," True expressed. "This is a worthy application of the pardon power: A mistake motivated by a father’s love for his daughter. But with or without the pardon, Jerry always works to make the world a better place in which to live."
Meanwhile, the Republican Party of Kentucky Communications Director Andy Westberry issued the following statement:
"Nobody should be surprised that Joe Biden doubled down on his legacy of championing corruption by issuing last-minute pardons on his way out the door. After all, he and his family have long benefited from the same 'Good Old Boys' Club' that protects Democratic Party insiders from accountability. Jerry Lundergan, a longtime Democratic establishment loyalist, exemplifies this cronyism."
The statement expanded, "This pardon is yet another example of Joe Biden and Kentucky Democrats believing in 'rules for thee, but not for me.' Thankfully, the Biden administration—corrupt even in its final moments—has now been relegated to the trash heap of history."
