Thread by @jbendery

Good morning. ☕️

ICYMI, House Democrats just urged Biden -- again -- to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier, the ailing, 77-year-old Native American rights activist who the FBI put in prison 45 years ago without any evidence he committed a crime. huffpost.com/entry/leonard-…

Led by @RepRaulGrijalva, nine House Dems wrote to Biden in October urging expedited release of Peltier because of his age, his serious health issues, his time served (45 YEARS) and risks of COVID.

Well, Peltier got COVID a couple of weeks ago. And he's still in prison.

So Ds just wrote to Biden again urging clemency for Peltier "with greater urgency."

Because of COVID, DOJ authorized the Bureau of Prisons to release elderly inmates + ppl with underlying health issues.

Peltier is 77, has diabetes + an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Still in there.

It was just a few weeks ago that Peltier was publicly pleading for help amid his prison's prolonged COVID-19 lockdowns.

He told HuffPost its constant lockdowns and failure to provide inmates with booster shots had left him and others unbearably isolated and preparing for death.

“I’m in hell,” Peltier told HuffPost, “and there is no way to deal with it but to take it as long as you can.”

A week later, he tested positive for COVID-19. huffpost.com/entry/leonard-…

So now we have a guy who has been in prison for 45 years without any evidence that he committed a crime, who is 77 years old, has serious health issues, is unbearably isolated and has COVID.

Makes no sense. huffpost.com/entry/leonard-…

No really, why is Leonard Peltier still in prison?

Because the FBI + U.S. Attorney's Office lied to put him in there, and in order for him to get clemency, they have to OK it.

"They have an inherent conflict. They’re not going to say, ‘Oops, sorry.’" huffpost.com/entry/leonard-…

Here's the backstory on how Peltier ended up in prison at all -- it's a mix of racism against Native Americans, greed and politics -- and why it is, as his pro bono attorney (and former Obama judge) put it, "a travesty of justice." huffpost.com/entry/leonard-…

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) told me last week he plans to talk to Biden about clemency for Leonard Peltier in one of their upcoming meetings.

He said their conversation will be private though, so he won't tell me what he said.

Maybe Leahy will forget that last part.

House Democrats appealing to Biden to let Leonard Peltier go home:

Raul Grijalva
Teresa Leger Fernandez
Jesus “Chuy” Garcia
Betty McCollum
Jared Huffman
Rashida Tlaib
Melanie Stansbury
Cori Bush
Barbara Lee

And... today I see yet another letter to Biden, this time signed by the Oregon State Democratic Legislative Caucus, urging him to release Leonard Peltier from prison.

19 legislators signed onto this.