NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� As Donald Trump fights to overturn his hush money criminal conviction, the one New York Democrat with authority to grant him a pardon signaled that she would need to see some remorse from the president-elect first.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was asked Wednesday if she would consider pardoning Trump, after a judge to throw out the conviction because of the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 recent ruling on presidential immunity.
鈥淭here is a pardoning process in the state of New York. It is lengthy,鈥� Hochul said at an unrelated news conference. 鈥淚t requires a couple of elements. One is remorse.鈥�
She continued: 鈥淣o one will be treated any better, or any worse, by me when I make those life altering decisions as we鈥檙e looking at petitions that are coming in throughout the year. So, no one gets extra favors, no one gets treated worse.鈥�
Trump has been fighting for months to reverse his May 30 conviction on . Prosecutors said he fudged the documents to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier, which Trump denies.
On Monday, a New York judge Trump鈥檚 efforts to toss the case because of the Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling. Prosecutors have indicated they would be open to delaying a sentencing until Trump leaves the White House, but say the sentence should stand. It remains unclear when 鈥� or whether 鈥� a sentencing date might be set.
In a recent court filing, Trump鈥檚 lawyers cited a social media post in which used profane language to criticize Trump鈥檚 hush money prosecution. The Pennsylvania Democrat suggested that Trump deserved a pardon, comparing his case to that of pardoned son Hunter Biden, who had been convicted of .
鈥淲eaponizing the judiciary for blatant, partisan gain diminishes the collective faith in our institutions and sows further division,鈥� Fetterman wrote last week on Truth Social.
Trump鈥檚 hush money conviction was in state court, meaning a presidential pardon 鈥� issued by Biden or himself when he takes office 鈥� would not apply to the case, as presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes.
The Associated Press
