'Tiger King' Joe Exotic says Joe Biden should release 'normal citizens' like him after Hunter Biden pardon
In this Aug. 28, 2013, file photo, Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic, is seen at the zoo he used to run in Wynnewood, Okla. (Sue Ogrocki/AP Photo)
FORT WORTH, Texas -
Joseph Maldonado, who is known as "Joe Exotic" from Netflix's "Tiger King," said President Joe Biden should pardon anybody who has filed for a clemency application, including himself.
Maldonado released an audio recording from a Fort Worth, Texas, prison, discussing the president's decision to pardon Hunter Biden after claiming multiple times that he wouldn't do so. Hunter Biden faced possible prison time after he was convicted of federal felony gun and tax crimes.
"You know how many thousands of people–normal taxpaying citizens–that are in federal prison for gun charges and tax evasion charges that don't have the blessing of their daddy being president of the United States in order to keep getting out of trouble?" Maldonado said.
To demonstrate fairness toward the "normal citizen," Maldonado asked the president to pardon others, including himself.
"He should go through and pardon anybody that has filed for a clemency application, including myself, for Christmas," Maldonado said.
Maldonado asked President-elect Donald Trump's initial pick for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, for a pardon. After Gaetz stepped down as the nominee, the "Tiger King" asked appointee Pam Bondi the same.
"I'm excited to see you in this position because of your background and because you're a woman," the Netflix star said in a letter to Bondi.
Maldonado was arrested in 2018 and was convicted of a murder-for-hire plot and violating the Endangered Species Act.
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