The alleged spy’s famous actress wife helped to fight for his freedom
PRESIDENT Donald Trump has pardoned a former police officer who was sentenced for helping the Chinese government spy on a family.
MAGA supporter Michael McMahon said he had been duped after he was caught allegedly tracking down Chinese fugitives for the Communist Party while working as a private investigator.
He was sentenced in April to 18 months behind bars after being convicted of acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government, among other charges.
Prosecutors argued that McMahon played a part in Operation Fox Hunt, which is a scheme where Chinese officials repatriate fugitives.
They said, at the request of the Chinese government, McMahon surveilled a family living in New Jersey and tried to coerce them into returning to their home country to face corruption charges.
State attorneys claim this is a method that the Communist Party uses to control Chinese people around the globe, the New York Times reported.
Meanwhile, McMahon’s attorney claimed the ex-cop was merely a pawn tricked into participating in the plot while working as a private investigator.
They said the former cop was fully honest with investigators, but was made an example of by politically motivated federal prosecutors working under Joe Biden’s administration.
McMahon has been a public supporter of Trump and was present at his inauguration in January as he awaited sentencing.
According to the Justice Department’s website, he had applied for a commutation this year, but didn’t meet the qualifications for a pardon.
Trump’s pardoning reportedly bypassed Justice Department guidelines, which have strict guidelines for vetting and identifying recipients who have served time and express remorse, the Times reported.
McMahon served time in a Michigan prison until he was moved to a residential re-entry facility last month, Representative Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York, told the Times.
Lawler, who announced the pardon on his social media, said he was pleased by Trump’s decision as he felt McMahon was innocent from the beginning.
“He never should have been prosecuted in the first place,” said Lawler, who has been campaigning for McMahon’s freedom.
“He fully cooperated, gave them all the information that he had on the case, and then the Biden DOJ prosecuted him to make an example out of him when he didn’t do anything wrong.”
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15458660/michael-mcmahon-pardon-china-spy-donald-trump