EDITORIAL: Fiore may not be free and clear

The questionable ethics of presidential pardon power continued recently, when President Donald Trump granted clemency to former Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore. However, she may not be free and clear just yet.

“Today, I stand before you — not just as a free woman, but as a vindicated soul whose prayers were heard, whose faith held firm and whose truth could not be buried by injustice,” Ms. Fiore posted on social media after learning of the president’s decision.

Ms. Fiore, who was appointed in 2022 to serve as a justice of the peace in Nye County, was convicted last year on wire fraud charges related to allegations that she raised $70,000 to construct a statue to a fallen Las Vegas police officer but evidently spent a portion of the donations on personal expenses, including plastic surgery and her daughter’s wedding.

She was scheduled for sentencing next month, and a judge had recently denied her request for a new trial.

The pardon, which was brief and contained no explanation, contradicts the federal jury that heard her case and sends precisely the wrong message to public officials tempted to enrich themselves through their sinecures. In addition, pardons are typically reserved for those who were wrongly convicted or the victim of some other miscarriage of justice. There is little evidence that either occurred in this case. Instead, it’s difficult to argue that political considerations weren’t the primary motivation for granting relief to Ms. Fiore.

The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline suspended Ms. Fiore without pay upon her indictment. She noted on social media that she now expects to be back on the bench next week. “On Monday,” she wrote, “I will walk back into my courtroom as the elected justice of the peace — not because man permitted it, but because God ordained it.”

God may have other plans, however. Benjamin Edwards, a professor at UNLV’s William S. Boyd School of Law, told Channel 8 news that Ms. Fiore could face additional charges. “The state and the federal government are different sovereigns. It’s not double jeopardy if the state prosecutes you for the same crime. … She still has exposure here. The underlying conduct that led to this conviction is still available if the state wants to go after her for it.”

But some would argue that would violate the double jeopardy clause of the Constitution.

There is also the legal question of whether the judicial discipline panel may take further steps to punish her or keep her off the bench altogether.

A pardon does not necessarily signify innocence. Ms. Fiore may now face no consequences for the jury verdict against her, but the integrity of the Nevada judicial system could be strained by her return to the courtroom.

The views expressed above are those of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.