BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore’s former top prosecutor Marilyn Mosby has applied for a presidential pardon ahead of sentencing for her recent convictions for perjury and mortgage fraud, according to The Baltimore Sun.
In a letter to President Joe Biden on Thursday, the Congressional Black Caucus expressed support for her case, repeating claims by Mosby and her lawyers that the prosecution was politically motivated, The Sun reported.
Mosby will be sentenced next week. She has asked for probation, while prosecutors are seeking 20 months in prison.
“As a nation leading by example, our legal system should not be weaponized to prevent progress toward a more perfect union,” wrote Rep. Steven Horsford, a Nevada Democrat who chairs the caucus.
The letter states that Mosby submitted her request for clemency on Wednesday. She recently appeared on MSNBC to plead her case.
Mosby served two terms as state’s attorney for Baltimore and earned a national profile for her progressive policies and several high-profile decisions. She has filed charges against the police officers involved in the 2015 death of Freddie Gray, which sparked widespread protests against police brutality. No one was convicted.
The federal criminal charges stemmed from allegations that Mosby claimed a pandemic-related hardship to make early withdrawals from her retirement account, then used those funds for down payments on properties in Florida. Prosecutors alleged she repeatedly lied on the mortgage applications.
Mosby lost re-election in 2022 after being indicted by a federal grand jury.
“While pardons generally express remorse and regret, what happens when justice is not served and is actually denied?” Mosby wrote this in her clemency petition, according to The Sun. “Such contrition and remorse are not appropriate in this case.”
