Democrats say Trump pardons keep victims from collecting restitution

House Democrats released a report this week that found President Trump's 1,600 pardons could cost

victims and the government up to $1.3 billion in lost fines and restitution

Congressman Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement

our ysis shows that Trump's criminal pardon spree is an astonishing giveaway to lawbreakers

to keep the money they stole from their employees, their investors, and all the American taxpayers

However, a review of the report reveals it has some flaws. Here's what we found

To come up with their total, Democrats used the total restitution amount imposed at sentencing for about 35 individuals

But in cases that happened years ago, the restitution has been paid and the offenders won't be getting it back

For instance, Ross Ulbrich, who founded the online drug marketplace Silk Road

was pardoned after serving nearly 12 years of a double life sentence

and relieved of his million restitution However the government auctioned off his Bitcoin years ago to wipe away his debt and it been paid The Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel says any

restitution awards that have been received by the victim prior to the granting of the pardon

are not recoverable by the offender. The DOJ wrote, quote, once the victim takes possession

the executive no longer has control over the award. However, in other cases, the restitution

had either not been paid or only been paid partially. And now, anything that hasn't been paid won't be

Reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley paid a portion of the more than $17 million in restitution owed to victims

They won't have to pay the balance. It's unclear exactly how much remained

Others, like tax cheat Paul Walchuk, will get off free and clear. He admitted to using money that was supposed to go to employee taxes

to fund an extravagant lifestyle and even buy a yacht. He didn't serve a day in jail and doesn't appear to have paid any of the $4.4 million he owed in restitution

I'm Ray Bogan for Straight Arrow News. For more reporting, download the SAN app