Trump pardons Nevada politician who paid for cosmetic surgery with funds to honor a slain office

[Biased Journalism]

<http://apnews.com>

Trump pardons Nevada politician who paid for cosmetic surgery with funds
to honor a slain officer
By RIO YAMAT

AP Reporter Rio Yamat

April 24, 2025

LAS VEGAS (AP) - President Donald Trump has pardoned a Nevada Republican
politician who was awaiting sentencing on federal charges that she used
money meant for a statue honoring a slain police officer for personal
costs, including plastic surgery.

Michele Fiore, a former Las Vegas city councilwoman and state lawmaker who
ran unsuccessfully in 2022 for state treasurer, was found guilty in
October of six counts of federal wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to
commit wire fraud. She was out of custody ahead of her sentencing, which
had been scheduled for next month.

In a lengthy statement Thursday on Facebook, the loyal Trump supporter
expressed gratitude to the president while also accusing the U.S.
government and "select media outlets" of a broad, decade-long conspiracy
to "target and dismantle" her life.

The White House confirmed Fiore had been pardoned but did not comment on
the president's decision.

The pardon, issued Wednesday, comes less than a week after Fiore lost a
bid for a new trial. She had been facing the possibility of decades in
prison.

Federal prosecutors said at trial that Fiore, 54, had raised more than
$70,000 for the statue of a Las Vegas police officer who was fatally shot
in 2014 in the line of duty, but had instead spent some of it on cosmetic
surgery, rent and her daughter's wedding.

"Michele Fiore used a tragedy to line her pockets," federal prosecutor
Dahoud Askar said.

FBI agents in 2021 subpoenaed records and searched Fiore's home in Las
Vegas in connection with her campaign spending.

In a statement, Nevada Democratic Party Executive Director Hilary Barrett
called the pardon "reckless" and a "slap in the face" to law enforcement
officers.

Fiore, who does not have a law degree, was appointed as a judge in
deep-red Nye County in 2022 shortly after she lost her campaign for state
treasurer.

She was elected last June to complete the unexpired term of a judge who
died but had been suspended without pay amid her legal troubles. Pahrump
is an hour's drive west of Las Vegas.

In her statement Thursday, Fiore also said she plans to return to the
bench next week.

Nye County said it is awaiting an update on Fiore's current suspension
from the state Commission on Judicial Discipline, which told The
Associated Press in an email that it was aware that Fiore had been
pardoned but that it didn't have further comment on her situation.

AP also sent an email seeking comment from Fiore's lawyer.

Fiore served in the state Legislature from 2012 to 2016. She was a Las
Vegas councilwoman from 2017 to 2022.

While serving as a state lawmaker, Fiore gained national attention for her
support of rancher Cliven Bundy and his family during armed standoffs
between militiamen and federal law enforcement officers in Bunkerville,
Nevada, in 2014 and Malheur, Oregon, in 2016.

[Governor Swill]

On Fri, 25 Apr 2025 04:54:46 -0700, Biased Journalism

Post by Biased Journalism
LAS VEGAS (AP) - President Donald Trump has pardoned a Nevada Republican
politician who was awaiting sentencing on federal charges that she used
money meant for a statue honoring a slain police officer for personal
costs, including plastic surgery.
Michele Fiore, a former Las Vegas city councilwoman and state lawmaker who
ran unsuccessfully in 2022 for state treasurer,

God job she lost *that* race.