🚨President Biden Pardons Virginia House Speaker Don Scott and Kemba Smith of Richmond, Va.
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BREAKING: President Biden Pardons Virginia’s House Speaker Don Scott
BREAKING: President Biden announced more pardons today, including the Speaker of the Virginia House, Don Scott of Portsmouth. President Biden also pardoned Kemba Smith of Richmond, Va.
Read the official WHITE HOUSE press release.
The pardon of Virginia’s historic House Speaker was put in as a formal request to President Biden by Congressman Bobby Scott (no known relation to Speaker Scott.) Both formal pardon requests for Don Scott and Kemba Smith to President Biden were made by Rep. Scott.
RELATED: Poster Child: The Kemba Smith Story (2011) by Kemba Smith
In 1994, during his third year of law school, Don Scott was sentenced to ten years in federal prison for being a money courier and sold no actual drugs. Scott served 8 years of the 10 year sentence. The lengthy penalty for a non violent drug offense was common during the punitive “war on drugs” 1990s. After completing his sentence Don Scott performed a dramatic life turnaround that began with passing the bar on his first attempt. The U.S. continues to lead the world in the rate of incarceration at an estimated annual cost of $80 billion. Biden has set a record for commutations.
Don Scott’s life has a feature film quality to it that’s almost hard to fathom. Speaker Scott is not only the Speaker of the Virginia House, he is currently one of Virginia’s more successful trial attorneys. Scott served in the U.S. Navy and graduated from Louisiana State University Law School in 1994. Scott served his time and then staged a storybook comeback that has included opening his own criminal defense firm before joining the Breit Biniazan law firm and becoming the Virginia House Democratic Leader in 2022. In 2024, Democrats won the majority in the Virginia House of Delegates and elected Don Scott the first Black speaker in Virginia's history.
Ironically, the period that kicked off “war on drugs” legislation featured in the 1986 and 1994 federal crime bills were authored in part by then-U.S. Senator Joe Biden.
President-Elect Donald Trump is threatening to seek legal action against political opponents. His potential targets include left-leaning prosecutors such as New York Attorney General Tish James and Atlanta District Attorney Fani Willis.
🚩 Pardons Granted by President Joseph Biden (2021-Present)
President Biden began this year’s pardon season with clemency for his son Hunter Biden on Dec. 1, 2024. Though the pardon was controversial, many argue that Hunter Biden was targeted by right-wing Republicans in a way rarely seen that included political motivation. But a recent AP poll showed that only 2 in 10 Americans approve of Biden's pardon of his son.
Democrats are worried that President-Elect Trump may prosecute political opponents. Trump has already stated that he will pardon his supporters who attacked law enforcement officers and broke in to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump takes power in less than 30 hours.
Below is Speaker’s Scott statement:
Statement from Speaker Don Scott on Receiving a Presidential Pardon
Richmond, VA – Speaker Don Scott released the following statement after President Joe Biden announced a Presidential Pardon, recognizing his journey of redemption and transformation following his 1994 incarceration for a drug-related offense, for which he served nearly 8 years.
“Today, I am deeply humbled to share that I have received a Presidential Pardon from President Joe Biden for a mistake I made in 1994—one that changed the course of my life and taught me the true power of redemption.
“I want to begin by thanking President Biden for granting me this pardon and recognizing my journey of redemption. His commitment to second chances is truly remarkable, and he will undoubtedly be remembered as the President who championed redemption and transformation. His unprecedented efforts in issuing pardons and supporting individuals in rebuilding their lives cannot be understated.
“After serving nearly eight years in federal prison for my actions, I came out determined to reshape my future. I was driven by faith, family, and the belief that a person’s worst mistake doesn’t define the entirety of their story. My journey—from being arrested as a law student to standing here today as the first Black Speaker of the House of Delegates in Virginia’s 405-year history—is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of second chances.
“My deepest thanks go to Senator Tim Kaine, Congressman Bobby Scott, Senator Mark Warner, my dear friend Ken Johnson, and all those who have supported me and advocated for me along this journey. To my wife, Mellanda, and our daughter—your unwavering love has been my foundation and my guiding light.
“I will never forget the pain my family felt when I was sentenced or the sound of my mother’s anguish in that courtroom. But I also won’t forget the joy of redemption and renewal—the sound of her tears as I was sworn in as Speaker. To those who may feel their mistakes define them, I want you to know that it’s possible to rebuild and thrive.
“This moment is not just about me. It’s about demonstrating that our nation can embrace the potential for change, for justice, and for redemption. It’s about what happens when we refuse to give up on each other.
“Thank you to everyone who believed in me, stood by me, and reminded me that my story was far from over.”
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6- Rumor, Repression, and Racial Politics: How the Harassment of Black Elected Officials Shaped Post-Civil Rights America (Since 1970: Histories of Contemporary America) by George Derek Musgrove
7- Son of Virginia, A Life in America's Political Arena (2015) by L. Douglas Wilder
8- The New Jim Crow (2010) by Michelle Alexander
9- Remaking Virginia Politics by Paul Goldman (Jan. 2022)
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