Montana Democrats, GOP split on Hammonds' pardon

Phil Drake | Great Falls Tribune

Show Caption Hide Caption Everything you need to know about presidential pardons Who is the President allowed to pardon? Can he pardon himself? Veuer's Sam Berman has the answers.

Rep. Greg Gianforte and Sen. Steve Daines released statements Wednesday supporting President Donald Trump’s pardon of a father and son convicted of intentionally setting fires on public land in Oregon, calling it a win for property rights.

The statements by the Montana Republicans put them at odds with some top Democrats and the Western Values Project, a Montana-based group that advocates for public land, which called the pardon a “direct threat to America’s public lands.”

On Tuesday the president pardoned cattle ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond, whose case became a rallying cry in the debate over federal control of public lands. They were convicted in 2012 of committing arson on federal land in Oregon. The conviction led to the armed occupation of a national wildlife refuge in Oregon for more than a month in 2016.

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 called for mandatory five-year sentences for the convictions. But U.S. District Judge Michael R. Hogan sentenced Dwight Hammond to three months in prison and Steven Hammond to a year and one day. But a federal appeals court in October 2015 ordered them to be resentenced to the mandatory prison time.

The new sentences sparked dozens of armed people to take over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

"Justice is overdue for Dwight and Steven Hammond, both of whom are entirely deserving of these Grants of Executive Clemency," the president's statement read, according to CNN.

The Trump White House said the Obama administration filed an "overzealous appeal" that led to the two men's five-year prison sentence: "This was unjust."

Gianforte said he agreed with Trump’s decision.

“President Trump’s decision to pardon Dwight and Steven Hammond is a win for property rights and our way of life. Overzealous bureaucrats from the Obama administration stretched the long arm of the federal government and unjustly targeted the Hammonds,” Gianforte said.

“I am grateful for President Trump’s actions and that the Hammonds are returning home to their family and ranch,” he said.

Daines also supported the pardon.

"Dwight and Steven Hammond were victims of the Obama administration’s attempts to expand the reach of government at the expense of property owners,” he said. “President Trump made the right decision.”

Democratic Sen. Jon Tester opposed the president's decision.

“This pardon is a thumb in the eye to everyone who follows the rules," he said. "It undermines our laws, our law enforcement officers, and all Americans who are the owners of our public lands.”

Chris Saeger, executive director of Whitefish-based Western Values Project, also disagreed.

“By pardoning the Hammonds, President Trump is telling anti-public land zealots there are no consequences for undermining every American’s birthright to our shared public lands and national parks,” Saeger said in an email.

“What’s just as bad is that it shows Department of Interior employees who face serious threats from anti-government extremists like the Hammonds that the administration does not have their backs. This pardon is a direct threat to America's public lands and our shared national treasures.”

Matt Rosendale, the GOP candidate for U.S. Senate, supported the president's action.

"I stand by President Trump's decision," he said. "Dwight and Steven Hammond were unfairly targeted and prosecuted because President Obama sought to expand the powers of the federal government rather than protect our property rights. I'm glad this wrong was righted."

Democrat Kathleen Williams, who is running against Gianforte on Nov. 6, criticized Trump's pardon.

"It's disappointing that Rep. Gianforte is so quick to stand with those who resort to threats of violence instead of working with ranchers, public lands managers and law enforcement officers to solve tough public lands issues," Williams said. "For years, I've worked to bring ranchers and public lands advocates together to solve problems and protect Montana's outdoor heritage, and I'll continue to do so as Montana's congresswoman."

Gianforte said he will continue working with Trump "to protect our Montana way of life from federal overreach so that miscarriages of justice, like what the Hammonds faced, do not happen again.”

This story contains information from the Associated Press and CNN. Reach Phil Drake at 406-422-0772 or pdrake@greatfallstribune.com