Associated Press
- President Donald Trump joked at his Wednesday press briefing that he would "take a look" at pardoning Joe Exotic from Netflix's "Tiger King."
- The now-famous zookeeper is serving 22 years in prison after a federal jury convicted him of wildlife crimes and hatching a murder-for-hire plot against his rival Carole Baskin.
- He previously asked the president for a pardon.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
President Donald Trump said he'd look into pardoning Joe Exotic from the Netflix series "Tiger King" after a reporter asked him at a press conference on Wednesday.
Joseph Maldonado-Passage, known as "Joe Exotic," who is the star of the popular docuseries, is serving a 22-year prison sentence after a jury convicted him of hiring a hitman to murder animal-rights activist Carole Baskin.
Maldonado-Passage has denied the charges against him and believes he was unfairly convicted. He has requested a pardon from Trump, according to The Daily Beast.
On Wednesday, when the reporter mentioned that one of the president's sons joked about lobbying him to pardon the zookeeper, Trump replied with: "Which son? Must be Don - what did he do?"
Donald Trump Jr. seemed to find the exchange between his dad and the reporter "hilarious."
But the president said he wasn't well-versed on Joe Exotic's conviction, saying, "I know nothing about it...he has 22 years for what? What did he do?"
The president then asked the reporter and others in the room if they thought Joe Exotic should be pardoned.
"Are you on his side? Are you recommending a pardon?" he asked. "I'll take a look."
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