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A man who served ten years in prison after being wrongly convicted of armed robbery thanked Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb on Friday for granting him a pardon that had been denied to him by former governor Vice President Pence. (Reuters)

For nearly 20 years, Keith Cooper had been a felon a label wrongfully placed on him by the criminal justice system.

For the past three years, he had hoped and waited for Mike Pence touse his executive power as Indianas governor to issue a pardon, permanently removing that label and the stigma that goes along witha felony.

Pence (R) did notdo it before he left the governorship and became vice president. ButPences replacement, Gov. Eric Holcomb (R), just did. He issueda pardon Thursday for the 49-year-old Cooper, who was wrongfully convicted of armed robbery in 1997in Elkhart, Ind.,according to theIndianapolis Star.

I am very much at peace pardoning him, Holcomb saidat a news conference Thursday morning, adding, I believe he is innocent of that crime.

[Like a slap in the face: Mike Pence wont act on wrongfully convicted mans pardon request]

The governor said he waspardoning Coopers robbery conviction, but not a battery conviction.

After careful and thoughtful consideration and review something Ive thought about every day over the last month just earlier today I issued a pardon to Mr. Keith Cooper for his past and I believe wrongful armed robbery felony, Holcombsaid.I did so because since that conviction in 1997, many pieces of information that were out and about that had been brought forward since have changed, including a victim, an informant, even the deputy prosecutor who convicted Mr. Cooper on that first crime, all have stated support or no objection to a pardon.

Holcomb saida deputy prosecutor wrote a letter in support of Coopers pardon, and the judge whopresided over Coopers trial has said he hadno objection to a pardon.

Eyewitnesses who once helped convictCopper for the crime have since said they were wrong,the governorsaid.

And, Holcomb said, theIndiana Parole Board also unanimously recommended a pardon several years ago.

So its for all of these reasons and personally believing that Mr. Cooper has waited long enough and needs not endure any further uncertainty that I issue this pardon this morning for the robbery conviction only, not the battery conviction, the governor told reporters.

Cooper could not immediately be reached for comment. His attorney, Elliot Slosar, said in an email that Holcomb had provided justice and closure to all of the victims in this case. The Governor has exonerated Keith Cooper by issuing the first pardon based upon actual innocence in Indianas history.

[Mike Pence struggles to defend the indefensible]

Coopers complicated case began in January 1997, when he was arrested for attempted murder and armed robbery in a crime that had occurred in an apartment complex in Elkhart, a northern Indiana town about 100 miles southeast of Chicago. Police said Cooper and an accomplice, Christopher Parish, committed the crime. But Cooper said he and Parish had never met a claim he maintains to this day.

Similar to one of the real suspects, Cooper is a tall, thin black man. He was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Parish, who fit the description of the accomplice, was convicted and sentenced to 30 years,according to court documents.

Evidence of Coopersinnocence surfaced years later.That included new DNA evidence proving that ahat one of the armed robbers left at the crime scene belonged to someone else and not to Cooper. DNA from the hat was later traced to Johlanis Ervin, who matched Coopers physical description and who committed a murder in Michigan years after the Elkhart armed robbery, according to court documents.

The victims and eyewitnesses have since recanted their original statements about Cooper. They also accused the Elkhart police detective who investigated the case of manipulating them into identifying Cooper, court records show.

Cooper was released from prison in 2006, after spending nearly a decade behind bars.

He has been fighting for his good name ever since.

Last year,Coopers attorney filed a petition for post-conviction relief,arguing that an avalanche of new evidence entitled Cooper to a new trial. That includes DNA evidence, recantations from victims and witnesses and most recently, a crucial letter from the attorney who prosecuted Cooper in 1997.Michael Christofeno, a former Elkhart County deputy prosecutor, had written theletter to Pence, saying: Justice demands that Mr. Cooper be pardoned.We cannot undo the wrongful imprisonment of Mr. Cooper, but we can undo his wrongful conviction with a pardon,according to the IndyStar.

Coopers attorney said that would be enough to get a pardon but it was not.

Inthe letter explaining Pences decision, his general counsel wrote thatbecause ofCoopers extraordinary request, the judicial process would need to run its course before the governor could step in.

Normally, people seeking gubernatorial pardons are those who committed crimes and have shown exemplary behavior following their conviction. Cooper, according to the governors office, was the first man in Indiana to seek a pardon because hes innocent.

Holcomb was sworn in Jan. 9 and issued the pardon exactly a month after taking office.

We are elated that in four short weeks Governor Holcomb was able to provide justice for Keith Cooper and the other victims, Slosar, the attorney, said in his email. The swift action by Governor Holcomb proves that the four years of inaction by former Governor Pence was unnecessary and disgraceful.

Read more:

Mike Pence cant believe Tim Kaine would insult Donald Trump by quoting him

Who is Mike Pence?

Fact-checking the vice-presidential debate between Kaine and Pence

See more here:
Mike Pence didn't act on a wrongfully convicted man's pardon request. But the new governor did. - Washington Post

President Donald Trump stood just to his vice presidents right as Mike Pence delivered a ceremonial oath of office to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The same scene played out eight days later as Pence officially swore in Attorney General Jeff Sessionson Thursday.

One of Pences most regular duties, three weeks into the Trump administrations tenure, is introducing his boss before public remarks. Almost as often, though, Pence is the oath-administrant in chief.

The White House, on both occasions, announced beforehand that the president would merely participate in the Oval Office swearing-in ceremonies. Both times, Trump delivered remarks, with his main task appearing to be assuring the world that Tillerson and Sessions would respectively remake global diplomacy and domestic law enforcement.

As his second in commandadministered the oath to Tillerson, Trump, who had just spent hours at Dover Air Force Base with the family of the first U.S. service memberkilled under his watch, stared downward, his mind seemingly elsewhere. While Pence delivered the oath to Sessions, Trumps head swiveled back and forth as both men spoke.

[Trump Lashes Out at Blumenthal Over Gorsuch Comments]

In fact, the vice president has carried out the ceremonial or official oath duties for all eight of Trumps Cabinet members shortly after they have been confirmed by the Senate.

Like with Tillerson and Sessions, Trump stood nearby at the Pentagon when his No. 2 swore in James Mattis as Defense secretary. Each Cabinet member then spoke from a podium affixed with the mostly blue presidential seal.

Pence did the honors solo for Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

Those five had to settle for the white vice presidential seal on the podium.

Several presidential scholars acknowledged that it seems Pence is swearing in high-level officials at a fast clip, but they said it is standard vice presidentialbusiness.

The vice president serving as oath-giver is not new to the Trump administration.

For instance, when it was time to swear in Hillary Clinton as secretary of State in early 2009, the still-new Obama administration had Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. do the honors. The same was true that year when it was time for Eric H. Holder Jr. to state his intention to uphold and defend the Constitution as the attorney general.

The practice was also common during Obamas second term, with Biden swearing in Holders successor, Loretta Lynch. The 47th vice president did the honors again in the Oval Office with Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew, though Obama, like Trump recently, stood nearby.

But, unlike Trump during his first three weeks, Obama sometimes administered oaths of office. In April 2009, for instance, the 44th president did so after his final Cabinet member, Kathleen Sebelius at Health and Human Services, was confirmed.

[Trump Suggests Courts Mulling His Travel Ban are Biased]

Several Republicansenators said there wasno reason to think any of the secretaries would like a distance from their bombastic boss.

Weve all expected that the vice president would have an active role, said Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. I think its part of that.

Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Pence taking the lead on the oaths is probably just the role the vice president plays, other reasons have to do with logistics we all want them to be sworn in as quickly as possible.

Nah, I dont buy it, Tillis said when asked if he believes any Cabinet member might prefer a picture with Pence rather than Trump. They were his nominees. Hes the one who put them forward.

Top Democrats also say vice presidentshave performed the task for years.

Senate Armed Services ranking member Jack Reed of Rhode Island said he can recall some being sworn in by the general counsel of their department.

Ive seen vice presidents do it before, said Appropriations ranking member Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, who has been in the Senate since the Ford administration (1975). I can remember Vice President [George H.W.] Bush, Vice President [Walter] Mondale, all the vice presidents, doing this. If they wanted distance, they wouldnt have accepted the nomination.

Get breaking news alerts and more from Roll Call on your iPhone or your Android.

Link:
Mike Pence Is the Oath-Administrant in Chief - Roll Call

National security advisor Michael Flynn may have lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with a Russian diplomat before the inauguration.

In a Jan. 15 appearance on the CBS News program Face the Nation, Pence denied that Flynn had discussed sanctions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak but Politico reported that the retired general may have misled him about those phone conversations with the diplomat.

A Trump administration official told the website that Pence based his public remarks on private conversations with Flynn, whose ties to the Kremlin have been the subject of numerous news reports.

If Flynn is allowed to mislead the vice president on a matter of importance, one Pence advisor told Politico, that would send a clear signal about his standing in a fractious White House.

Flynn may have violated federal law by discussing government business as a private citizen, which he was at the time, with a foreign nation.

The national security advisor at first denied the reports but then admitted that he could not be certain that the topic of sanctions never came up.

Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, also flatly denied on Jan. 13 reports that Flynn had discussed sanctions with the Russian diplomat.

Link:
Trump's security advisor Mike Flynn may have lied to VP Mike Pence about Russian talks: report - Raw Story

Vice President Mike Pence's move received waves of applause through the cavernous dining hall, per a pool report. | Getty

By Henry C. Jackson

02/09/17 08:59 PM EST

Vice President Mike Pence traveled to West Point today to give a speech at an awards dinner -- and he led off by granting amnesty to the assembled cadets.

Pence delivered a 20-minute speech on Thursday night, per a White House pool report, touching on the administrations efforts to stop ISIS. Pence spoke at a mess hall honoring Henry O. Flipper, a former slave who was the first African-American to graduate from the academy.

Before he got going, though, Pence used his executive authority to grant amnesty for minor offenses to the cadets. It was a crowd pleasing gesture, met with waves of applause through the cavernous dining hall, per the pool report.

Pence also received big cheers when he mentioned President Donald Trump, and the administrations push against ISIS.

Make no mistake about it: President Trump and this administration and this country will not rest until these enemies are destroyed and our nation is safe again, Pence said.

Read this article:
Pence grants cadets amnesty - Politico (blog)

Vice President Mike Pence waves while leaving a Senate policy luncheon. Mario Tama / Getty Images

ID: 10498962

The newly-elected Governor of Indiana Eric Holcomb has pardoned a wrongfully convicted man whose petition for exoneration was delayed for more than two years by his predecessor, Vice President Mike Pence.

After serving 10 years of a 40-year prison sentence for armed robbery and attempted murder, Keith Cooper was freed when eyewitnesses recanted their testimony against him, new DNA evidence showed he wasnt at the scene of the crime, and a jailhouse informant admitted that he lied to investigators.

Five years later, Coopers pardon petition was presented to the state parole board, who found unanimously that he should be pardoned and have the two serious felony charges wiped from his record.

But after the parole board delivered its recommendation on Cooper to the governors office, Pence sat on the pardon for more than two years claiming that Cooper had not exhausted all other judicial remedies with the courts.

To our knowledge, Mr. Cooper has not filed a petition with the courts in Elkhart County to determine whether post-conviction relief is available, Gov. Pences general counsel Mark Ahearn wrote in a letter to Cooper in September.

After Pence joined the Trump campaign as his VP candidate he resigned the governorship, leaving his successor to deal with the Cooper case. While they waited for further action from the Governors office, Coopers attorney filed a petition this fall for a new trial. And despite being freed from prison, the two felonies remained on Coopers record.

Im tired of people judging me by that conviction. That [Department of Correction] number. Thats not who I am, Cooper told BuzzFeed News in August. Man, I know that better than my own Social Security number.

Keith Cooper Elliot Slosar

ID: 10498975

In August 2016, BuzzFeed News reported about Coopers wrongful conviction in the 1996 robbery where one man was shot.

Twelve years after the incident, in 2008, shooting victim Michael Kershner and his mother, Nona Canell, gave videotaped statements claiming that they misidentified Cooper.

They said that they believed based on the new evidence that the person whose DNA was found on a hat left behind at the crime scene was the shooter. Canell said that during the investigation she requested numerous times to see a lineup of suspects, but the lead detective on the case, an Elkhart Police detective, assured her that they had the right guy in Cooper.

At an October debate, then-candidate for Governor Eric Holcomb said he understood Pences thinking in letting the judicial process play out.

However, Holcomb, who served as Pences lieutenant governor, appeared to depart from Pences stance that this was a matter for the court to decide, saying that if elected he would like to meet with Cooper and review the facts of the case.

I would look forward to quickly exonerating, quickly pardoning, swiftly if the facts bear that out, Holcomb said.

On Thursday, Holcomb made good on that statement and announced on Twitter that he was pardoning Cooper.

The pardoning makes Cooper the first person in the states history granted clemency based on a finding of innocence.

Read more from the original source:
Indiana's New Governor Pardoned A Wrongfully Convicted Man After Mike Pence Delayed It For Years - BuzzFeed News