“Now, look, I support using the clemency power to rectify injustices when the criminal legal system gets it wrong.”

“But Donald Trump, with the support of Republicans in Congress, is using his authority to reward fraudsters—and he is doing so at the expense of victims of fraud.”

In December, Pressley Released First-Of-Its-Kind Report Exposing Trump’s Clemency Gap, How his Pardons Neglect Those Who Need Them Most

Video (YouTube)

WASHINGTON – During the House Oversight Committee’s Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses’ first hearing on alleged fraud in Medicaid waiver programs, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)condemned Trump’s clemency gap and corrupt use of pardons, exposing the hypocrisy of the Trump administration’s fraud attacks while he pardons fraudsters, political allies, and the wealthy and well-connected at the expense of victims of fraud and those who need clemency the most.

A transcript of Congresswoman Pressley’s question line during the hearing is available below and the video is available here. 

Transcript: Pressley Condemns Trump’s Clemency Gap, Pardoning Fraudsters & Political Allies at Expense of Victims of Fraud

U.S. House of Representatives

June 3, 2026

REP. PRESSLEY: Today’s hearing is the first one convened by the so-called Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses. And yet we are ignoring the fact that Donald Trump is the single largest threat to our Constitution – and judges across our country have consistently ruled, in fact, that he has violated the law. 

And when it comes to institutional abuses, Trump created a $1.8 billion fund to directly send taxpayer dollars to his friends and political allies. 

That is what I call fraud.

But Republicans want to ignore Trump’s culpability. So, let’s discuss a federal government response to what is happening in Ohio.

Mr. Faber, given your role as state auditor, when public funds are stolen, what do you consider to be meaningful accountability?

MR. FABER: Chairman, Representative. Essentially the question is, what do you think needs to happen to people who are caught stealing, lying, cheating with government money, as we have done in 165 different cases? 

You hold them accountable. If it is convictable fraud, meaning a crime, you prosecute them and send them prison. 

On the other hand, a lot of what we see—as I talked about earlier, as somebody who prosecutes fraudsters—is waste or abuse, and that is essentially a public policy question. 

You need to tighten the controls, tighten the eligibility, tighten the parameters of the program to limit waste and abuse. 

We lose more money in waste and abuse than we do in other areas, but fraud is certainly something if you catch somebody who violates the law, you hold them accountable and you prosecute them. That’s what I’ve done. 

REP. PRESSLEY: Okay, well, I’ll just say yes, and in my opinion, accountability must also include restorative justice—so that means making communities whole.

It means putting the stolen money back into programs that it was taken from, and sending a clear message that theft of public good, of public funds simply does not pay. It is unacceptable. 

I don’t feel that’s the standard that’s being modeled by Republicans. 

In today’s hearing, we’ve seen and heard people castigate and attack caregivers who bathe our elders, who cook for disabled neighbors, and keep families together in their homes.

And so when it comes to holding bad actors accountable and helping victims, Trump and Republican sycophants seem to me to be deeply unserious, and that is a choice. It’s a deliberate choice. 

Mr. Faber, do you believe that individuals—and this is a yes or no question, please—that individuals convicted of health care fraud should have to pay restitution? Yes or no?

MR. FABER: Absolutely, we have issued tens, hundreds of millions of dollars of findings for recovery for restitutions, not just on convictions, but when we find somebody has violated the rules.

REP. PRESSLEY: All right, and I’ll just ask for the entire dais.

Ms. Roziak, do you believe individuals convicted of health care fraud should have to pay restitution? Yes or no?

MS. ROZIAK: Yes.

REP. PRESSLEY: Okay. And Representative Dovilla?

REP. DOVILLA: Yes.

REP. PRESSLEY: And Senator Antonio?

SEN. ANTONIO: Yes.

REP. PRESSLEY: Alright, so you agree, but you know who doesn’t, Donald J. Trump. 

In fact, I want to ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a June 2025 article from Truthout, titled “Trump Grants Clemency to Executive Who Orchestrated $205 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme.”

CHAIR: Without objection.

REP. PRESSLEY: Now, look, I support using the clemency power to rectify injustices when the criminal legal system gets it wrong.

But Donald Trump, with the support of Republicans in Congress, is using his authority to reward fraudsters—and he is doing so at the expense of victims of fraud.

I published a report called Trump’s Clemency Gap. It reveals how Trump has prioritized pardoning people who collectively defrauded the federal government of over $2 billion in taxpayer money. 

For example, in 2011 Florida resident Lawrence Duran, owner of American Therapeutic Corporation, was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for orchestrating a $205 million Medicare fraud scheme involving false and fraudulent claims for mental health services. 

A federal judge ordered Duran to pay more than $87 million in restitution, which Trump wiped away. 

This task force should have a hearing about that. 

Senator Antonio, do you support Trump denying $87 million in restitution to victims when he commuted Lawrence Duran? Yes or no?

SEN. ANTONIO: No.

REP. PRESSLEY: Representative Villa?

REP. DOVILLA: It’s not an issue I’ve looked at, and it’s not relative to this hearing. 

REP. PRESSLEY: I’m asking, I’m asking you now—

REP. DOVILLA: Congresswoman—

REP. PRESSLEY: It’s pretty clean. Do you support Trump denying $87 million in restitution to victims when he commuted Lawrence Duran? 

REP. DOVILLA: I stand by the statement I’ve given you. 

REP. PRESSLEY: Okay, Mr. Roziak?

MR. ROZIAK: Same answer as Ms. Dovilla.

REP. PRESSLEY: Well, I don’t know. I guess I just have to take that as a no. Mr. Faber?

MR. FABER: No, I’m not familiar with the facts. The short answer is, the President has— 

REP. PRESSLEY: I’m making you aware of it right now, so you could just—

MR. FABER: You’re not. Without me understanding both sides, without the President’s facts in the commutation, he has that—

REP. PRESSLEY: There’s really not both sides, somebody’s—

MR. FABER: Now, the fact is, is there are things that I disagreed with the Biden partners as well, but—

REP. PRESSLEY: Fair enough, but that also is not the subject of this hearing, so that’s not germane, but this is—and we should be having a hearing about that. 

Thank you.

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