NAACP calls on President Joe Biden to pardon Marilyn Mosby, who they say was victim of Donald Trump

The NAACP led a group of civil rights organizations Tuesday in asking President Biden to pardon former Baltimore state attorney Marilyn Mosby.

Mosby was found guilty. In February, he was indicted on federal charges of filing false mortgage applications to secure lower interest rates.This conviction followed a November 2023 conviction. on two counts of perjury Relating to the withdrawal of funds from the City of Baltimore’s Deferred Compensation Plan. She could face up to 40 years in prison.

In a letter to BidenThe NAACP and 14 other organizations argued that Mosby was unfairly targeted and convicted “after enduring political persecution and malicious prosecution by the Trump administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ).”

“We are deeply concerned that the previous administration abused its power to pursue baseless charges against Mr. Mosby, and worse, that the current administration’s U.S. Department of Justice has maliciously prosecuted Mr. Mosby. “We are deeply concerned that this has ignored clear political motives,” the letter said.

The group argues that Mosby’s commitment to accountability and racial equity drew the ire of federal officials, including former President Trump.

In February 2020, former Attorney General William Barr criticized prosecutors, including Mosby, in a speech before law enforcement.

After the police killing of George Floyd, Mosby frequently appeared on national television and in newspapers as an authority on police misconduct and police prosecutions. When President Trump threatened to send federal agents to Baltimore in July 2020, Mosby said he would prosecute federal agents who committed illegal acts against Baltimoreans.

The letter said Mosby learned in August of that year that he was under federal investigation, which was “widely seen as retribution for his courageous stand defending the constitutional rights of voters.”

Mosby was wrongfully convicted in November, according to the letter. Although the Department of Justice argued that she did not need the funds withdrawn from her retirement plan because she kept her entire paycheck, the NAACP and other groups have argued that there are no objective criteria for her to be eligible for retirement withdrawals. He claimed to have met the requirements.

In addition, 739 people withdrew funds from retirement accounts without being charged with unauthorized withdrawals, including three people within her agency, and Ms. Mosby was the only one to be indicted. was. She was then denied her due process and the opportunity to testify and present evidence of her innocence, her letter states.

Her February conviction was based on misrepresenting a $5,000 “gift” on a mortgage application. The letter to Biden claimed that expert testimony during the trial confirmed that Mosby received inadequate advice.

The letter concludes that the economic impact is far less than the Justice Department’s usual threshold of $1 million.

“We hope that the political persecution and malicious prosecutions that occurred during the Trump administration will not continue under the Biden administration,” the letter said. “MS. Mosby’s case is not the only one, but one of the latest and most egregious. This matter is a miscarriage of justice and an example of the previous administration’s abuse of power, and it must be corrected.”

The letter includes Black to the Future Action Fund, Black Voters Matter, Black Women’s Roundtable, Color of Change, Fair and Just Prosecution, National Action Network, National Bar Association, National Black Justice Coalition, National Black Law Student Association, National Black The Law Student Association, National Action Network, National Bar Association, National Black Law Student Association, National Black Law Student Association, and National Action Network also signed. From the Black Civic Engagement Coalition to the National Council of Black Women to the National Urban League to Freedom and a World Without Genocide.

Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said Mosby’s conviction is an example of how black Americans are targeted by the justice system.

“For decades, we have seen black Americans face unjust prosecution at the hands of those who seek to promote injustice,” Johnson said in a statement.

“Marilyn Mosby’s only crime is her desire to provide a better life for her family. The sad reality is that as black women take their rightful place in positions of power, dark forces continue to influence them. The NAACP refuses to stand by and let injustice take over and push us down a path of further inequality. We are proud to join our partners in calling on President Biden and the Department of Justice to re-emphasize their commitment to racial justice by pardoning Attorney Mosby. It’s time to stand together.”