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Tag: perjury

  • President Trump pardons 5 former NFL players for crimes ranging from perjury to drug trafficking

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    President Donald Trump on Thursday pardoned five former professional football players — one posthumously — for various crimes ranging from perjury to drug trafficking.The pardons were announced by White House pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson. Ex-NFL players Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, and the late Billy Cannon were granted clemency.“As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again. So is our nation,” Johnson wrote on the social media site X, as she thanked Trump for his “continued commitment to second chances.”Johnson said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones “personally” shared the news with Newton, who won three Super Bowls with the team.The White House did not return a request for comment Thursday night on why Trump, an avid sports fan, pardoned the players.Klecko, a former star for the New York Jets, pleaded guilty to perjury after lying to a federal grand jury that was investigating insurance fraud. A defensive lineman, Klecko was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023. He was a two-time Associated Press All-Pro player and a four-time Pro Bowler.Newton, an offensive lineman, pleaded guilty to a federal drug trafficking charge after authorities discovered $10,000 in his pickup truck as well as 175 pounds of marijuana in an accompanying car driven by another man. Newton was a two-time All-Pro player and six-time Pro Bowler.Lewis, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns, pleaded guilty in a drug case in which he used a cellphone to try to set up a drug deal not long after he was a top pick in the 2000 NFL draft. Lewis, a running back, was named an All-Pro once and was a one-time Pro Bowler. He was named the 2003 AP Offensive Player of the Year.Henry, who played for the Denver Broncos, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic cocaine for financing a drug ring that moved the drug between Colorado and Montana. He was a running back for three teams and a one-time Pro Bowler.And Cannon — who played with the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs — admitted to counterfeiting in the mid-1980s after a series of bad investments and debts left him broke.Cannon was a two-time All-Pro player and a two-time Pro Bowler. Cannon also won the 1959 Heisman Trophy while starring for Louisiana State University, where he had one of the most memorable plays in college football history: an 89-yard punt return for a touchdown against Ole Miss. He died in 2018.

    President Donald Trump on Thursday pardoned five former professional football players — one posthumously — for various crimes ranging from perjury to drug trafficking.

    The pardons were announced by White House pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson. Ex-NFL players Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, and the late Billy Cannon were granted clemency.

    “As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again. So is our nation,” Johnson wrote on the social media site X, as she thanked Trump for his “continued commitment to second chances.”

    Johnson said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones “personally” shared the news with Newton, who won three Super Bowls with the team.

    The White House did not return a request for comment Thursday night on why Trump, an avid sports fan, pardoned the players.

    Klecko, a former star for the New York Jets, pleaded guilty to perjury after lying to a federal grand jury that was investigating insurance fraud. A defensive lineman, Klecko was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023. He was a two-time Associated Press All-Pro player and a four-time Pro Bowler.

    Newton, an offensive lineman, pleaded guilty to a federal drug trafficking charge after authorities discovered $10,000 in his pickup truck as well as 175 pounds of marijuana in an accompanying car driven by another man. Newton was a two-time All-Pro player and six-time Pro Bowler.

    Lewis, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns, pleaded guilty in a drug case in which he used a cellphone to try to set up a drug deal not long after he was a top pick in the 2000 NFL draft. Lewis, a running back, was named an All-Pro once and was a one-time Pro Bowler. He was named the 2003 AP Offensive Player of the Year.

    Henry, who played for the Denver Broncos, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic cocaine for financing a drug ring that moved the drug between Colorado and Montana. He was a running back for three teams and a one-time Pro Bowler.

    And Cannon — who played with the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs — admitted to counterfeiting in the mid-1980s after a series of bad investments and debts left him broke.

    Cannon was a two-time All-Pro player and a two-time Pro Bowler. Cannon also won the 1959 Heisman Trophy while starring for Louisiana State University, where he had one of the most memorable plays in college football history: an 89-yard punt return for a touchdown against Ole Miss. He died in 2018.

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  • California woman accused of registering dog to vote, casting mail-in ballots

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    AS IS REQUIRED BY LAW. TONIGHT, AN ORANGE COUNTY WOMAN FACES FIVE FELONIES ACCUSED OF REGISTERING HER DOG TO VOTE, ACCORDING TO THE ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 62 YEAR OLD LAURA YORK OF COSTA MESA, CAST BALLOTS IN HER DOG’S NAME, AND THOSE BALLOTS WERE FOR THE RECALL OF THE GOVERNOR IN 2021 AND THE 2022 PRIMARY. THE DOGS VOTE WAS SUCCESSFULLY COUNTED IN 2021, BUT IT WAS REJECTED IN 2022. PROSECUTORS SAY YOUR NEXT POSTED A SOCIAL MEDIA PICTURE OF HER DOG WEARING AN I VOTED STICKER. IF CONVI

    California woman accused of registering dog to vote, casting mail-in ballots

    Updated: 12:50 AM EDT Sep 9, 2025

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    A Southern California woman has been charged with multiple felonies after she allegedly registered her dog to vote and cast mail-in ballots in her pet’s name, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.Officials said Laura Lee Yourex, 62, of Costa Mesa, had registered her dog, Maya Jean, to vote and successfully cast a ballot in the dog’s name in the 2021 gubernatorial recall election. She tried to cast another ballot in the dog’s name in the 2022 primary election, but that ballot was rejected.Yourex was also open about her actions on social media, officials said. She allegedly posted a photo of her dog wearing an “I voted” sticker with a ballot in January 2022, and in a post from October 2024, shared a photograph of her dog’s tag and a vote-by-mail ballot with the caption: “Maya is still getting her ballot,” after the dog’s death.The district attorney’s office said Yourex self-reported the voter fraud to the Orange County Registrar of Voters’ Office. The registrar’s office then contacted the district attorney’s office.Yourex is charged with one count of perjury, one count of procuring or offering a false or forged document to be filed, two counts of casting a ballot when not entitled to vote, and one count of registering a non-existent person to vote.”According to the California Elections Code, in order to vote, a person must be registered as a voter by filling out and submitting an Affidavit of Registration, which includes the voter’s name, residence, mailing address, date of birth, political party preference, and a certification that the voter is a citizen of the United States. The affidavit must be signed under penalty of perjury,” the district attorney’s office stated in a news release.In California state elections, an ID is not required to cast a ballot. However, proof of residence and registration is required for first-time voters in a federal election, which is why the 2022 ballot was rejected.Voter identification laws in recent years have become a heated topic, often brought up in discussions of voter fraud or immigration legal status. In fall 2024, California enacted a law prohibiting local governments from enforcing a voter ID requirement. That law came after voters in Huntington Beach, which is in Orange County, approved a measure that would let the city require voters to show their ID when casting ballots.The 2021 election to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom was voted down by 61.9% of voters, so Maya’s alleged vote would not have swayed the outcome.However, anyone who suspects any voter fraud is urged to contact their county.

    A Southern California woman has been charged with multiple felonies after she allegedly registered her dog to vote and cast mail-in ballots in her pet’s name, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

    Officials said Laura Lee Yourex, 62, of Costa Mesa, had registered her dog, Maya Jean, to vote and successfully cast a ballot in the dog’s name in the 2021 gubernatorial recall election. She tried to cast another ballot in the dog’s name in the 2022 primary election, but that ballot was rejected.

    Yourex was also open about her actions on social media, officials said. She allegedly posted a photo of her dog wearing an “I voted” sticker with a ballot in January 2022, and in a post from October 2024, shared a photograph of her dog’s tag and a vote-by-mail ballot with the caption: “Maya is still getting her ballot,” after the dog’s death.

    The district attorney’s office said Yourex self-reported the voter fraud to the Orange County Registrar of Voters’ Office. The registrar’s office then contacted the district attorney’s office.

    Yourex is charged with one count of perjury, one count of procuring or offering a false or forged document to be filed, two counts of casting a ballot when not entitled to vote, and one count of registering a non-existent person to vote.

    “According to the California Elections Code, in order to vote, a person must be registered as a voter by filling out and submitting an Affidavit of Registration, which includes the voter’s name, residence, mailing address, date of birth, political party preference, and a certification that the voter is a citizen of the United States. The affidavit must be signed under penalty of perjury,” the district attorney’s office stated in a news release.

    In California state elections, an ID is not required to cast a ballot. However, proof of residence and registration is required for first-time voters in a federal election, which is why the 2022 ballot was rejected.

    Voter identification laws in recent years have become a heated topic, often brought up in discussions of voter fraud or immigration legal status. In fall 2024, California enacted a law prohibiting local governments from enforcing a voter ID requirement. That law came after voters in Huntington Beach, which is in Orange County, approved a measure that would let the city require voters to show their ID when casting ballots.

    The 2021 election to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom was voted down by 61.9% of voters, so Maya’s alleged vote would not have swayed the outcome.

    However, anyone who suspects any voter fraud is urged to contact their county.

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