Tiger King aka Joe Exotic's pardon plea gets Trump's attention, he says "I'll take a look"

US President Donal Trump during a  Coronavirus daily briefing was asked whether he will pardon Tiger King star Joe Exotic. President Trump responded to this question by stating “I’ll take a look.” Joe has a popular Netflix documentary based on him titled, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness. Joe Exotic is currently facing a 22-year jail term for endangering species, among several other charges.

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Trump responds to Joe Exotic’s pardoning

US President Donald Trump is holding a daily White House briefing for the current Coronavirus pandemic that has affected the country severely. During Wednesday's briefing, President Trump was asked by a reporter if he is aware of, aside from the rating hits of Coronavirus, a Netflix show called Tiger King. He further added that the man who is the star of the series, Joe Exotic, was a former zoo owner and is serving a 22-year jail sentence. The reporter also said that Joe has asked the President to pardon him stating that he was unfairly convicted.

The reporter also told President Donald Trump that his son Donald Trump Jr. also jokingly said that he would advocate for it. After stating this, the reporter asked the President if he has seen the show or has thoughts about pardoning Joe Exotic. Trump responded to this question by stating he does not know anything about it and also asked the reason behind him serving a 22-year jail sentence.

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After getting to know about Joe Maldonado-Paassage’s case, President Trump turned to another reporter and asked him if he thinks Joe Exotic is guilty and whether he would recommend a pardon. The reporter responded with a “No” and said he is not advocating anything yet. Trump responded to the second reporter by stating that as a reporter he is not allowed to comment or otherwise he would be criticised.

Trump went ahead and spoke to a third reporter and asked him whether he would recommend a pardon. This third reporter responded by stating that he is not weighing in on Tiger King. Trump responded to this entire situation by finally saying, “I’ll take a look”.

Joe Maldonado-Passage was found guilty of illegal acquisition and transport of rare animals, and he had nine violations of the Endangered Species Act for killing five tiger cubs. Joe Exotic was also found guilty of two charges of murder-for-hire for attempting to kill animal rights activist Carole Baskin who tried to shut down Passage’s G.W. Exotic Animal Park.

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