U.S. Attorney Defends Case After Trump Pardons Honduran Ex-President
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A top federal prosecutor defended his office's work on Wednesday, one day after President Donald Trump pardoned the case's central figure.
Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for Manhattan, had previously called the drug trafficking prosecution of Juan Orlando Hernández a success. Hernández, the former president of Honduras, was convicted earlier this year.
President Trump exercised his executive power to grant Hernández a full pardon this week. The decision nullifies the life sentence Hernández was facing.
The U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment directly on the pardon. However, Clayton emphasized that the constitutional authority for such actions rests solely with the president.
"The President has the final word on pardons," Clayton stated, reaffirming the separation between federal prosecutions and the president's clemency power.