Michigan Gov. Whitmer says Trump agreed not to pardon kidnapping plotters

Whitmer said President Donald Trump previously told her that he wouldn’t pardon the men convicted of plotting to kidnap her in 2020, despite him telling reporters on Wednesday he would consider it.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said President Donald Trump previously told her that he wouldn’t pardon the men convicted of plotting to kidnap her in 2020, despite him telling reporters on Wednesday he would consider it. The men charged in the case conspired to kidnap the Democratic governor from a vacation home and blow up a bridge to delay law enforcement but were arrested first, authorities said. Eight men were charged on the state level and another six were indicted on federal charges in 2020. Ultimately, nine were convicted or pleaded guilty in the case, and five were acquitted. Whitmer’s comments come after Trump’s response to a question Wednesday on whether he had plans to pardon the men. “I’m going to look at it,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “It’s been brought to my attention. I did watch the trial. It looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job. I’ll be honest with you, it looked to me like some people said some stupid things,” Trump said. “You know, they were drinking, and I think they said stupid things, but I’ll take a look at that. And a lot of people are asking me that question from both sides. Actually, a lot of people think they got railroaded. A lot of people think they got railroaded.” Whitmer, whose dynamic with Trump has appeared to shift from adversarial in his first term to more amicable during his second, said Trump would be going back on his word if he granted the pardons. “I talked to the President about a month ago, and he asked me how I’d feel about this. And I said ‘I think it would be the wrong decision. I would oppose it.’ And he said ‘okay, I’ll drop it.’ Now, we see this revelation. So, I’m not sure how to process it,” Whitmer told Michigan Public Radio on Thursday.