Obama-Appointed Judge Blocks Refund for Pardoned Jan. 6 Defendant — Defies Trump’s Justice Reform Efforts
An Obama-appointed federal judge has once again rejected a request from a January 6 defendant seeking a refund of restitution payments — even after being granted a full presidential pardon by President Donald J. Trump.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, known for her aggressive rulings against January 6 defendants, denied a request from Stacy Hager, a 61-year-old Texas resident who had sought to recover $570 in restitution following his pardon. Hager was convicted in 2023 on four misdemeanor charges tied to his presence at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
According to federal prosecutors, Hager had posted photos and videos of himself at the Capitol on Facebook, but they later agreed that he should receive a refund, acknowledging there was “no longer any basis justifying the government’s retaining funds.” Despite this, Judge Chutkan refused — aligning herself with other left-leaning D.C. judges who have blocked similar refund requests.
Partisan Pattern Emerging Among Obama Judges
Chutkan’s order cited decisions from three other judges in Washington, D.C. — Chief Judge James Boasberg, Judge Royce Lamberth, and Judge Randolph Moss — who all denied similar requests from pardoned defendants.
Her ruling invoked the 1877 Supreme Court decision Knote v. United States, claiming that a presidential pardon “does not return rights or property once vested in others.”
“A pardon cannot authorize reimbursement once money has ‘been paid to a party to whom the law has assigned them,’ because the party’s ‘rights . . . have become vested,’” Chutkan wrote in her decision.
Trump’s Pardons Continue to Face Resistance
President Trump’s sweeping pardon initiative — covering more than 1,500 Americans prosecuted under what many conservatives call the Biden administration’s “political persecution campaign” — included Hager among its recipients.
The Justice Department itself admitted that Hager’s case was exceptional. Unlike most, his conviction had been vacated entirely by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals while still under review. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Dreher wrote that “there is no longer any basis justifying the government’s retaining funds exacted only as a result of that conviction.”
Despite even federal prosecutors supporting Hager’s motion, Chutkan still dismissed it, concluding that “this court lacks the authority to order the Architect of the Capitol to refund Hager’s $570.”
Political Backlash
Democrats immediately criticized President Trump’s pardons of January 6 defendants, portraying them as an affront to “justice.” However, Republicans and constitutional scholars have countered that most of these individuals were charged with minor offenses, yet faced disproportionate punishment — including years in pretrial detention without bail.
The latest ruling reinforces the perception that Obama-appointed judges in Washington, D.C. continue to undermine President Trump’s constitutional authority to issue pardons, turning what was meant to be an act of clemency into another battleground in the nation’s ongoing political divide.