• Trump hints at pardoning individuals involved in the failed 2020 kidnapping plot of Governor Whitmer.
• He described the trial as a "railroad job" and suggested that the defendants were unfairly treated.
• Two men were convicted in 2022 and sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy.
• The case garnered national attention amid Trump’s ongoing disputes with Governor Whitmer.
• The Justice Department's new pardon attorney supports reviewing the convictions for potential pardons.

President Trump has expressed a willingness to “take a look” at issuing pardons for individuals convicted in the failed 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. He claimed that the case seemed to him to be a “railroad job” during a recent statement, implying that the proceedings were unfair and characterized by poor handling by the authorities. “I did watch the trial... it looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job,” Trump commented, raising questions about the legitimacy of the charges against those involved, according to The Hill, Newsweek, CBS News, and HuffPost.

The three main defendants, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr., were found guilty of conspiracy that involved plans to kidnap Whitmer during a time of heightened tensions surrounding her COVID-19 policies. Their actions reportedly included conducting surveillance on Whitmer’s vacation home and attempting to blow up a bridge to facilitate their escape once the kidnapping took place. Despite their convictions, their defense claimed that the defendants were entrapped by FBI informants and were not serious about the kidnapping plot, which they characterized as a misguided venture fueled by drunken musings, according to Newsweek and CBS News.

Trump's comments on potential pardons align with recent sentiments from Ed Martin, the newly appointed pardon attorney at the Justice Department, who has indicated that the Whitmer cases deserve a second look, likening the defendants’ treatment to that of January 6 insurrectionists. Martin defended the idea of reviewing these cases as necessary to remedy what he perceives as injustices in the convictions. According to Martin, “these are victims just like January 6” offenders, which echoes Trump's sentiments of inquiry into the fairness of the judgments, as mentioned in HuffPost.