Biden’s Final Commutation Was Too Much Even for Christopher Wray
Infuriated by former President Joe Biden’s preemptive pardons of family members in the last hour of his term or simply focused on the imminent inauguration ceremony, most Republicans missed the final act of his presidency – his commutation of the life sentence of Native American activist Leonard Peltier. He was convicted of murdering two FBI agents, Ronald Williams and Jack Coler, during a “standoff” on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in 1975.
The White House news release read: “The President is commuting the life sentence imposed on Leonard Peltier so that he serves the remainder of his sentence in home confinement. He is now 80 years old, suffers from severe health ailments, and has spent the majority of his life (nearly half a century) in prison.”
[Note: The news release is no longer available on the White House website. The link now responds with a 404 error.]
Peltier, who is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa in North Dakota, has had “multiple bouts with Covid-19, diabetes, a stroke and an aortic aneurysm,” according to The Washington Post. The report said that Peltier and his supporters have long claimed he did not receive a fair trial and was wrongly convicted.
Minnesota Public Radio News provided a detailed account of the case on Monday:
The shooting of the two agents followed a tense two years on the Pine Ridge reservation. At the time, leaders of the American Indian Movement (AIM) demanded better treatment of Native people living on and off the reservation-including jobs, better health care and education. … Peltier joined the movement in 1972.In February of 1973 the tension culminated at Wounded Knee when members of AIM and other Indigenous people took over the town. A stand-off between members of AIM and federal law enforcement lasted for 71 days….In the late morning of June 26, 1975, agents spotted and followed what was described as a red pickup truck. Peltier and a few other men were in the truck, which turned into Jumping Bull Ranch in Oglala, South Dakota, where Peltier and other AIM members were camping. A firefight ensued.Just before noon, agents radioed for backup, saying they were under fire and needed assistance. Other agents were miles away and also under duress. Within minutes, both Coler and Williams had been shot and killed. It took hours for their bodies to be recovered.According to the FBI, “a total of five rounds had been fired from both Williams’ and Coler’s weapons. The agents’ vehicles alone had 125 bullet holes.” Williams was shot in the foot, his body and head while Coler was shot twice in the head after sustaining other bullet wounds, the FBI said….Butler, Peltier and Robideau were charged with two counts of first-degree murder and aiding and abetting. Peltier, who already had an outstanding warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, fled to Canada. He was placed on the FBI’s ten most wanted list in 1975. In 1976, he was captured by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and was extradited to the United States. His trial took place a year later in Fargo, North Dakota.After a five-week trial, Peltier was found guilty and sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison. Butler and Robideau were acquitted in 1976 on grounds of self-defense.
MPR reported that Peltier’s story changed over the years.
In the book written by Peter Matthiessen titled, “In the Spirit of Crazy Horse” Peltier said he was working on a car nowhere near Jumping Bull when the incident occurred. In another account, he said he was awakened by the sound of gunfire. In his 1999 memoir, “Prison Writing, My Life is My Sundance,” Peltier admitted to shooting at the agents but maintained he did not kill them.
Peltier was denied parole at his most recent hearing in July and would not be eligible again until 2026, as per CBS News.
Delighted by the news of Peltier’s commutation, his former attorney Kevin Sharp issued a statement on Monday which said, “President Biden took an enormous step toward healing and reconciliation with the Native American people in this country. It took nearly 50 years to acknowledge the injustice of Leonard Peltier’s conviction and continued incarceration, but with the president’s act of mercy, Leonard can finally return to his reservation and live out his remaining days.”
The FBI was vehemently opposed to any form of clemency for Peltier. When asked for input from the White House earlier this month, former FBI Director Christoper Wray wrote a blistering letter to Biden expressing his strong objection to such a move.
Perhaps angry that Biden ignored their guidance and went ahead with clemency anyway, the FBI released Wray’s letter on Monday. It read (in part): “Even though courts have repeatedly examined and exposed Peltier’s claims as baseless, his sympathizers continue to wrongly promote him as a standard-bearer for legitimate grievances about the United States government’s historical mistreatment of Native Americans. But the facts cannot — and must not — be ignored. Peltier is a ruthless murderer who has shown a complete lack of remorse for his many crimes.”
Activists, according to MPR, have lobbied for Peltier’s release since his incarceration, and the calls for his release have only increased over the years. His supporters include far-Left human rights group Amnesty International, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Pope Francis (naturally), Robert Redford, and the members of the band, Rage Against the Machine.
At any rate, Biden’s grant of clemency to Peltier has sparked outrage among Republicans and even some Democrats such as pollster Mark Penn.
As Wray wrote in a previous letter (in opposition to Peltier’s 2024 parole request), “Over the last 45 years, no fewer than 22 federal judges have evaluated the evidence and considered Peltier’s legal arguments. Each has reached the same conclusion: Peltier’s claims are meritless, and his convictions and sentence must stand.”
Peltier’s guilt looks pretty conclusive. And the timing of this commutation, coming in literally the last few minutes of Biden’s presidency, suggests that his inner circle knew that too.
Elizabeth writes commentary for The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a member of the Editorial Board at The Sixteenth Council, a London think tank. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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