DOJ plans to retry Philip Esformes despite Trump commuting sentence

Fresno CA

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A highly unusual move by the Justice Department to retry Florida nursing home owner Philip Esformes on health-care fraud criminal charges after then-President Donald Trump commuted his 20-year prison sentence is headed to an appeals court hearing as defense lawyers suggest prosecutors are motivated by anger at Trump. “The situation is entirely unique because the actions of the prosecutors here are incredibly outrageous,” said Joe Tacopina, a leading New York criminal defense attorney. “There’s no question in my mind that the [Justice Department’s] flagrant disregard of President Trump’s clemency order is motivated by acrimony towards him,” said Tacopina, who is assisting Esformes’ new team from the Reed Smith law firm in preparing for the federal appeals court hearing next month in Miami. He said prosecutors are engaged in an “obvious vendetta” against the former president for letting Esformes out of prison after a years-long criminal case. “And if there’s any question about that, what the prosecution is doing here against Mr. Esformes is unprecedented,” Tacopina said. “He’s clearly a political casualty of partisan games.”