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Over the years, Donald Trump has defeated many foes, but he may have just met his most ferocious match: Tiger King star Joe Exotic.
Those familiar with the hit Netflix series know the flamboyant man of many piercings was convicted of trying to have his arch nemesis, Carole Baskin, killed.
The 2019 result: 22 years in the slammer.
To add insult to Exotic’s injury, Florida animal nut Carole won custody of Joe’s Oklahoma wildlife park.
But the man who likes tigers, triggers, and dudes wasn’t done.
Hence, on September 10th, Joe’s legal team filed a 257-page pardon application with the White House.
In a personal letter to the President, Mr. Exotic — who claims he was framed — implored The Donald to “be [his] hero, please.”
“Be my hero please.” The Tiger King aka Joe Exotic wrote this letter to President #DonaldTrump from prison, seeking a pardon. Makes direct appeal to President’s distrust of fed investigators by framing himself as the victim of dishonest DOJ that lied to further “it’s own agenda.” pic.twitter.com/WKBFOnNeLc
— Paula Reid (@PaulaReidCBS) September 9, 2020
Two months later, he called to Kim Kardashian for help.
‘Joe Exotic wrote a handwritten letter to Kim Kardashian-West asking for her help getting a pardon from Donald Trump’ might be the most 2020 sentence ever written!😂https://t.co/kymIP8tFum
— Mix 99.1 (@Mix991Mankato) December 9, 2020
He also penned an appeal to “Cardi B, Kim Kardashian, Brad Pitt, Hollywood and the people of the world.”
@iamcardib @KimKardashian @TheEllenShow @ellentube I received my first letter from #JoeExotic tonight and he is asking from help! Please retweet to get this to those he mentioned. pic.twitter.com/odE5w6AqPR
— faith 🤍 (@keepthe__faith) April 11, 2020
Shockingly, his efforts failed.
Within a week of its filing, Joe’s request was mauled by the administration.
Hence, now the Tiger’s showing his claws.
As reported by New York Post, Joe is suing the Justice Department over the rejection.
From the Post:
Exotic — whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage — argues that the denial is not valid because the request was not presented directly to President Trump himself.
…
In the complaint, Exotic alleges that Sargent-Burns never forwarded a formal recommendation to the president — something the lawsuit alleges she was required to do as an adviser, due to the fact that Trump has the sole authority to issue pardons.
The suit names good ol’ Trump Jr. as a supporter:
“Many people have come out and publicly expressed their disagreement with Joe Exotic’s conviction and subsequent sentence. Among those, are members of the President’s own family. Donald Trump Junior has been an advocate for Joe Exotic to be Pardoned.”
Joe’s got a handful of things to be excused: He was found guilty of eight counts of falsifying wildlife records and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act.
The two counts of murder-for-hire didn’t help.
His campaign had a fair shot:
Exotic has been angling for a presidential pardon for months. In April, Trump said he would “take a look” at the former zoo owner’s pardon request.
Advocates for Exotic reportedly spent $10,000 at Trump’s hotel in Washington, DC, recently in an attempt to curry favor with the president.
FREE JOE EXOTIC? Team Tiger King bus in DC seeking pardon from President Trump for star Joe Exotic https://t.co/kW0J2dLPuj pic.twitter.com/iQ1HdWjABj
— FOX 5 DC (@fox5dc) May 20, 2020
A reporter just asked if Trump would pardon Joe Exotic from Tiger King and Trump said, “I will take a look.” pic.twitter.com/f0c0R8QmDy
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) April 8, 2020
But: Shot, no good.
Nonetheless, if you think the Tiger King saga’s done — in real life and onscreen — think again.
From my May 4th article:
A scripted series covering the Tiger King chronicles will be making its way to a small screen near you.
And not only that, but the famed gay, mulleted, country-singing, gun-toting, Carole-obsessed, tiger-exploiting, abusive, controversial lead character will be played by none other than Academy Award-winner Nicolas Cage.
Let’s hope that show isn’t so bad, it requires a pardon, too.
-ALEX
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