Trump pardons ex-MLB star Darryl Strawberry, former Tennessee politicians
Nov. 7 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Friday pardoned former baseball star Darryl Strawberry, and former Republican Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his chief of staff, Cade Cothren.
The two politicians were sentenced in September after federal corruption convictions.
Strawberry, 63, pleaded guilty in 1995 to tax fraud and served 11 months in a Florida state prison. Strawberry was ordered to pay $350,000 in restitution.
He played 17 seasons with the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants as an outfielder and designated hitter. He won four World Series — three with the Yankees and one with the Mets.
“President Trump has approved a pardon for Darryl Strawberry,” a White House official told The New York Post. “Mr. Strawberry served time and paid back taxes after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion.”
He also had three years’ probation.
“Following his career, Mr. Strawberry found faith in Christianity and has been sober for over a decade — he has become active in ministry and started a recovery center which still operates today,” the official also told CNBC.
Strawberry was suspended from Major League Baseball in 2000 after failing a drug test.
Casada, 66, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison after being convicted on 17 charges that include wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Cothren, 38, was sentenced to 30 months after being found guilty on all 19 charges.
The sentences were lower than what was possible.
“Yes, the president called me today and granted me a full pardon,” Casada told NBC News. “I am grateful of his trust and his full confidence in my innocence through this whole ordeal.”
The investigation into the Tennessee lawmakers began when Trump was first president. Raids of both men’s homes took place in January 2021. They were arrested in August 2022 and convicted in May 2024, shortly after Trump began his second term.
“The Biden Department of Justice significantly over-prosecuted these individuals for a minor issue involving constituent mailers — which were billed at competitive prices, never received a complaint from legislators, and resulted in a net profit loss of less than $5,000,” a White House official told NBC News. “The Biden DOJ responded with an armed raid, perp walk, and suggested sentences exceeding 10 years — penalties normally reserved for multimillion-dollar fraudsters.
District Judge Eli Richardson, who oversaw the case and issued the sentence was appointed by Trump.
Casada and Cothren used Phoenix Solutions to illegally funnel money to themselves for campaign and government-funded work, the Justice Department said. That included a $52,000 mail program for state legislators.
A false name, Matthew Phoenix, was used to run the company.
Casada resigned as speaker in 2019 after a no-confidence vote amid another scandal involving the two men. They were accused of exchanging sexually explicit messages about a woman.
Casada said in an apology that the texts were “not the person I am.”
Prominent Republican and country music star John Rich called for Trump to pardon them.
Cothren’s biography on X reads: “by Biden’s DOJ for standing with Trump. Convicted for refusing to break. Redeemed by grace – and not done yet.”
Trump has issued more than 1,700 pardons and commutations in both terms. That includes around 1,500 people involved in the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021.
Among Trump’s pardons during his second term are politicians: Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and Republicans: former Tennessee state Sen. Brian Kelsey, former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm of New York, and former Las Vegas City Council member Michele Fiore. Also, he commuted the sentence of former U.S. Rep. George Santos, also a Republican, for time served of three months.
Like Blagojevich, Strawberry appeared on Trump’s TV show, The Celebrity Apprentice. In 2010, he competed to win money for his foundation.