Ganim not on Trump’s list of pardons, commutations

BRIDGEPORT — Mayor Joe Ganim’s long relationship with outgoing President Donald Trump didn’t get him a spot on a list of pardons in connection with his prior federal prison sentence.

The White House released a list Wednesday of the 73 people granted pardons and the 70 who had their sentences commuted by Trump before he left office. Ganim’s name was not on that list.

While the names and information were released early Wednesday, Trump had the authority to grant additional pardons until President Elect-Joe Biden

Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim.

was sworn in Wednesday at noon.

Trump’s administration is also not required to announce all of the pardons. But whether that means Ganim is being considered, or could secretly be granted a pardon, isn’t clear.

The mayor did not immediately respond to request for comment Wednesday morning.

Ganim and Trump’s relationship dates back to when the president unsuccessfully tried to build a casino in the Park City in the late 1990s — during Ganim’s first run as mayor.

Four years later, in 2003, Ganim was convicted after a lengthy FBI investigation on 16 counts of racketeering, extortion and bribery. Investigators found that Ganim had used his political office to grant business and contracts in exchange for money or other perks.

Ganim completed his sentenced in July 2010.

He was again elected mayor of the state’s biggest city in 2015, after running an improbable but ultimately successful comeback. In 2019, Bridgeport residents reelected him for another four years.

Records from the U.S. Department of Justice show that Ganim has a pending request for a pardon. He previously requested a commutation of sentence from the justice department and White House. But the Office of the Pardon Attorney closed that request in March 2009, records show.

Larry Kupers, former head of the U.S. Office of the Pardon Attorney under Trump until 2019, said Trump was likely Ganim’s last chance for a pardon.

“With someone who commits a crime when in political office, the chances of him getting a favorable recommendation from DOJ are basically slim to none because that sort of abuse of the public trust is considered a really negative factor for the clemency recommendation,” Kupers told Hearst Connecticut Media earlier this month. “But once it goes over to (President Joe) Biden, he’s going to be out of luck most likely.”

Early last month, there were more than 14,000 pending applications for pardons or commutations of sentences, according to DOJ data.