Donald Trump has said he will be examining the request to pardon Joe ‘Exotic’ Maldonado-Passage – the subject of the hugely popular Netflix series Tiger King.
“I’ll take a look,” said Trump when asked about the pardon, in a White House briefing meeting.
The president’s eldest son has been asking his father to pardon Joe Exotic, who is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence for masterminding a murder-for-hire plot against Carole Baskin.
“Which son? Must be Don — what did he do?” said Donald Trump, when asked about the pardon.
“I know nothing about it … he has 22 for what? What did he do?” Trump asked.
After explaining the situation, Trump asked: “Do you think he didn’t do it?”
“Are you on his side? Are you recommending a pardon?”
The President then asked other journalists whether or not they would give Joe Exotic a pardon: “Would you recommend a pardon?”
Joe Exotic has officially asked for a pardon from Trump, and also announced a US$94 million lawsuit against the federal government on March 19 via Facebook.
Netflix’s seven-part documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness clocked up 34.3 million viewers in its first ten days.
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