Trump Grants Pardons, Commutations to 30 People

President Donald Trump granted clemency to 30 people Thursday, including a former drug offender who went on to become a business executive, a longtime Philadelphia union leader convicted of bribery, and a former Navy sailor convicted of federal firearms offenses.

The White House and representatives for the recipients confirmed the grants, according to The New York Times.

Among those receiving clemency was Holly Leanne Frantzen, who had served more than a decade of a nearly 17-year sentence for drug-related charges.

The White House did not specify whether Frantzen received a pardon or a commutation, the Times reported.

In a statement seeking clemency posted on the website of a prisoners' rights group, Frantzen acknowledged past struggles with drug addiction and said she was working toward completing a plumbing apprenticeship while incarcerated.

Alice Marie Johnson, the White House pardon czar, highlighted Frantzen in a statement announcing the grants.

"My prayer is that each of these 30 people makes the most of this extraordinary second chance and becomes a greater blessing to their families, communities and the world," Johnson said in a social media post.

Trump also pardoned Emory Clash Jones, who served more than a decade in prison after being convicted in a case involving the sale of crack cocaine.

Jones, a longtime associate of rapper Jay-Z, whose given name is Shawn Carter, has been out of prison since 2010, according to Bureau of Prisons records.

Jones later worked as an executive at Roc Nation, the entertainment company founded by Carter.

In 2009, Carter wrote to the judge overseeing Jones' case and urged his release, citing Jones' intelligence, interpersonal skills, and work ethic, according to the Times.

Jones and Roc Nation did not respond to requests for comment, the Times reported.

Another recipient was John Dougherty, the former leader of Philadelphia's International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98.

Dougherty, known as "Johnny Doc," led the union for nearly three decades before resigning in 2021 after his conviction for bribing a Philadelphia City Council member.

Trump commuted the remainder of Dougherty's six-year prison sentence after he had served less than two years.

A White House official told the Times that the commutation would allow Dougherty to care for his terminally ill wife.

Dougherty's lawyer, George Bochetto, said his client had been released from prison and was returning to Philadelphia to be with his wife.

Trump also pardoned Patrick Adamiak, a former Navy sailor who was sentenced in 2023 to 20 years in prison for possessing and selling illegal machine guns and possessing unregistered destructive devices, according to the Justice Department.

Adamiak's case had been championed by gun-rights advocates, who argued that his conviction involved unclear regulations and that a confidential informant had improperly targeted him.

Adam Kraut, executive director of the Second Amendment Foundation, said the organization was pleased that Adamiak had received a pardon.

The latest grants add to Trump's use of his presidential clemency authority during his second term.

Presidential clemency can take the form of either a pardon or a commutation.

A pardon forgives a federal offense and can remove certain legal consequences of a conviction, while a commutation reduces or ends a sentence but leaves the underlying conviction in place.