Trump Pardon of Honduran Ex-President Undercuts Prosecutor on His Legal Team

A recent presidential pardon has created an unusual conflict within former President Donald Trump's own legal circle. This week, Trump granted a full pardon to Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras. A U.S. federal court convicted Hernández in March on drug and weapons charges. He was sentenced to life in prison for accepting millions in bribes to protect cocaine shipments bound for the United States. The prosecution that secured that conviction was led, in part, by attorney Emil Bove. Bove served as a prosecutor in the same U.S. Attorney's office that tried the case. He later joined Trump's legal team and worked for him in the White House. Trump's pardon nullifies one of Bove's most significant professional achievements. The action erases the life sentence of the former Honduran leader his former prosecutor helped imprison. Legal experts note the pardon is absolute and cannot be overturned. Hernández is expected to be released and deported from the United States.