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In MAGAland, we’re being told that we should care about “Somali fraud” - that the level of corruption in this community is so insidious, Trump is justified in sending his own personal goon squad (aka ICE) into Minnesota to terrorize American citizens.
And yet, the full list of people Trump pardoned was dropped this week, and the list is rife with convicted fraudsters. Not one is Somali. All of them are wealthy, MAGA-pilled Trump sycophants.
On the surface, this is inconsistent but in reality it’s entirely predictable. Prepare to be shocked by these two truth bombs: The founder of Trump University never cared about combatting fraud, and the architect of the Muslim ban is a white supremacist. Take all the time you need.
Under this administration, fraud is only a crime worth prosecuting when it can be used as a political weapon and a pretext for turning DHS loose on a blue state.
Time to log on.
In a just America, pardons are usually meant [ [link removed] ] for those who have atoned or demonstrated good character. Adriana Camberos’s pardon, by contrast, is blatant corruption - a reward for loyalty and connections. When she was first convicted of fraud in 2016, she received a sentence commutation after she hired two lawyers with close ties to Trump: Stefan Passantino, a former deputy White House counsel, and Adam Katz, who previously represented Rudy Giuliani in a case connected to Trump’s 2020 campaign. Camberos received a full presidential pardon after a second fraud conviction in 2024, and the White House confirmed [ [link removed] ] that her pardon stemmed from the fact that she was “unfairly targeted” because of her ties to Trump (even though she was found guilty…twice…by a jury of her peers).
Another corrupt pardon Trump issued this past week went to Julio Herrera Velutini, a Venezuelan‑Italian billionaire banker indicted in April 2022 on federal charges of bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud. Following the indictment, his daughter Isabela Herrera donated [ [link removed] ] $2.5 million to MAGA Inc., a pro‑Trump super PAC. After a lenient plea deal was reached in August 2025, she donated [ [link removed] ] another $1 million. Of course, it can’t hurt that the lawyer negotiating Mr. Herrera’s plea deal was none other than Christopher M. Kise, who joined Trump’s own legal team in 2022. Denying that political loyalty and financial support didn’t help game the system here is absurd and insulting to the American public.
The list goes on. [ [link removed] ]
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that no one on the list of recent pardons is Somali‑American. Including anyone with Somali ancestry would unravel the hateful narrative Trump is pushing - a story meant to slander an entire community, sow distrust and turn neighbor against neighbor. In his twisted, racist tale [ [link removed] ], all Somali-Americans are out to rip us off while contributing nothing to society. It’s a frightening rehash of the Nazi playbook [ [link removed] ] - blame the other. First they came for the Somalis…
That’s why it’s heartening to see and hear the stories coming out of Minneapolis, where not only neighbors but also local officials are standing strong as a community and saying, “Somali Minnesotans are an essential and cherished part of our city and state.” They recognize that Trump’s rhetoric is nothing more than a smear campaign, designed to lay any issues of affordability at the feet of immigrants.
Fraud is a serious crime, especially when it erodes trust in public institutions and involves taxpayer money. And it should be prosecuted as such! But any notion that Trump actually cares about these crimes or the people of Minneapolis flies out the window the moment he bestows mercy on the very fraudsters he claims to despise. His moral outrage is a fraud - a mask for picking and choosing who faces punishment, with zero regard for justice. Like a true despot, Trump sees the law only through the lens of loyalty, cash and political convenience. But, justice should never be a tool of political theater or used to scapegoat an entire population like Somali‑Americans - it’s meant to hold wrongdoers accountable, regardless of race, wealth or politics.
Speaker Johnson’s House Majority is smaller than it’s ever been before. Click here to chip in to help flip the House blue and take our country back! [ [link removed] ]
During his reign, Trump has taken unprecedented steps to consolidate and expand his executive authority, so it’s hardly shocking that he’d abuse his pardon power as well. After all, as enshrined in the Constitution, that power is explicitly broad, with little to no checks in place. Once upon a time, abusing this power was mostly curtailed by fear of scandal and political backlash. When Gerald Ford became president after Richard Nixon resigned in the aftermath of Watergate, he entered office with a 71% approval rating. Within a month of issuing Nixon a full pardon - a move largely regarded as corrupt by the American public and criticized by his own Republican Party - Ford’s approval rating plummeted 21 points.
Trump, on the other hand, is not burdened with shame, caution or even the pretense of political accountability. He pardons his friends, donors and political allies while attacking Somali‑Americans and other marginalized communities. The message is clear: the pardon power, unchecked and wielded without conscience, becomes a tool of favoritism and intimidation. In the absence of Republican lawmakers with any spine, it’s up to citizens, media and other lawmakers to shine a light on Trump’s abuses and demand that the law serves everyone equally.
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