Democratic Rep. Phillips says Trump should be pardoned for 'the good of the country'

Congressman Dean Phillips, D-Minn., pressed Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to pardon former President Donald Trump for "the good of the country."

"Donald Trump is a serial liar, cheater, and philanderer, a six-time declarer of corporate bankruptcy, an instigator of insurrection, and a convicted felon who thrives on portraying himself as a victim," Phillips wrote on the social media platform, X on Friday. "@GovKathyHochul should pardon him for the good of the country."

Phillips doubled down on his comments Saturday. 

"You think pardoning is stupid?" he wrote on social media. "Making him a martyr over a payment to a porn star is stupid. (Election charges are entirely different.) It’s energizing his base, generating record sums of campaign cash, and will likely result in an electoral boost."

A New York jury found Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records during his 2016 presidential bid to conceal a non-disclosure agreement payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with her.

Trump, who also is the 2024 presumptive GOP presidential nominee, now becomes the first U.S. president to be found guilty of felony crimes.

His sentencing is expected to be announced next month.