Boasberg reverses course on Jan. 6 defendants pardoned by Trump
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on Wednesday ordered two Jan. 6 defendants pardoned by President Donald Trump to be refunded in full for restitution payments made and fines incurred as...
By Fox News · Fox News
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on Wednesday ordered two Jan. 6 defendants pardoned by President Donald Trump to be refunded in full for restitution payments made and fines incurred as part of their earlier criminal cases. It was a reversal from just months earlier, when the same judge rejected their bid for repayment. Boasberg used a memo order Wednesday to outline the fairly complex case history for Cynthia Ballenger and her husband, Christopher Price, both of whom had been tried and convicted on misdemeanor charges in connection with events of Jan. 6, 2021, and ordered to pay hundreds of dollars in assessment fees and restitution. Boasberg's order effectively clears the way for the government to refund them both in full. JUDGE BOASBERG TO WEIGH TRUMP CONTEMPT IN DEPORTATION CASE THIS WEEK The new decision, he said, is the result of an appeals court decision, as well as the timing of Trump's pardon, which came at the same time as their case had been pending appeal before the D.C. Circuit. "Having viewed the question afresh, the court now agrees with the defendants," Boasberg said. Both defendants, Ballenger and Price, had been in the process of appealing their convictions when Trump took office for a second time this year and issued a sweeping pardon for the roughly 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants. In July, Boasberg rejected their request to be refunded the $570 each in restitution payments and other fees paid as a part of their convictions. They later asked the court to reconsider, clearing the way for Wednesday's new ruling. Boasberg, in the new memo order, cited the same precedent from July, which states that a pardon alone is not sufficient to entitle a former defendant to any property or compensation lost as a result of the conviction. "By itself, defendants’ pardon therefore cannot unlock the retroactive return of their payments that they ask for here," he noted Wednesday, reiterating that the court's ruling on this portion of the appeal remains unchanged. Rathe…