NYT's columnist on Michael Milken pardon: Rule of law in U.S. appears under threat

President Trump announced he is pardoning Michael Milken, the former junk bond king who spent years in prison for violating securities law. Jim Stewart, columnist at the New York Times who wrote the book on the insider trading scandal involving Milken and other big Wall Street financiers of the 1980s, joins "Squawk Box" to discuss.

President Donald Trump granted executive clemency Tuesday to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, as well as to ex-New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik and to Edward DeBartolo Jr., former owner of the San Francisco 49ers football team.

Trump also announced that he had pardoned Michael Milken, the former junk bond king who became a face of the insider trading financial scandals of the 1980s.

In all, Trump granted some form of executive clemency to 11 individuals Tuesday, according to the White House.

Trump commuted the remainder of Blagojevich’s 14-year prison term. The Illinois Democrat had begun serving that sentence in 2012 after he was found guilty of attempting to trade the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama for money or favors.

Blagojevich was scheduled for release on March 13, 2024, according to the Bureau of Prisons. Trump has floated the possibility of commuting Blagojevich’s sentence for nearly two years.

In a joint statement, the former U.S. attorney in Chicago and the ex-federal attorneys who prosecuted Blagojevich stressed that the former governor’s crimes were “very serious” and deserved to be punished.

“That has to be the case in America: a justice system must hold public officials accountable for corruption. It would be unfair to their victims and the public to do otherwise,” they said.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said that Blagojevich “betrayed the people of Illinois and engaged in a pattern of corrupt behavior for which he was held accountable and which cost him more than seven years of freedom.”

Durbin called for the enactment of “stricter ethics requirements, including the full detailed disclosure of income, net worth, and income tax returns by all elected officials.”

Kerik oversaw the NYPD under then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is now the president’s personal lawyer, during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Kerik was nominated in 2004 to lead the Department of Homeland Security under then-President George W. Bush.



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[videogroove]

Milken was a crook, plain & simple.
Joe Kernen is the biggest joke in financial reporting, hes the definition of a dinosaur who's so out of touch its painful to watch.
He'll be working for Fox one day which makes sense since he's the male version of Bartiromo

[blondemommyvomit]

Know why he went down? Because he stepped on the toes of a more richer and more powerful Jew.

[pfsalinger]

How is the rule of law “underthreat” the Executive Branch holds that power regardless

[Ezinma]

It would have been good to hear more from their guest, who had to struggle to get a word in. The host just loved the sound of his own voice! It's not all about you, love.

[kornpop]

why should milken be imprisoned when the same practices are now used every day on wall street?

[vootamu]

Are you running interference for Milken or reporting on him? I mean, Pablo Escobar also did good things for his country, too. Shameful "reporting"!

[quang]

PARDON IS GOOD WHEN ARE THE RECEIVER ? otherwise it's not good ?

[petrovmoorichka]

This host OWNS Stewart. Milken was not and has never been a criminal. He revolutionized finance, thus revolutionizing so much of our business landscape today. Stewart is criticizing Milken for bring successful and rich. Why do people have this arrogant blowhard on their shows?