Trump Announces Plans To Posthumously Pardon Pete Rose

WASHINGTON, DC—President Donald Trump announced on Friday, February 28 that he would issue a posthumous pardon of Pete Rose, and called for the all-time leader in career hits to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Rose, who passed away in September at the age of 83, was served a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball in 1989 for gambling on games, and was barred from the Hall of Fame. Trump did not specify what the pardon would cover, although Rose served five months in prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion in 1990. As has been the case since 1991, when a rule was put into place making anyone on baseball’s ineligible list also ineligible for Hall of Fame election, Rose would become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration only if he is reinstated by MLB.