Who is Jonathan Braun? Drug dealer freed by Trump sent back to prison

A convicted drug trafficker and loan shark who was granted clemency by President Donald Trump has been sent back to prison after being accused of criminal conduct since his release.

Jonathan Braun was sentenced to 27 months in prison on Monday for violating the terms of his release.

Since having his sentence commuted by Trump, Braun was found to have violated the terms of his supervised release by allegedly sexually assaulting a family nanny, swinging an IV pole at a nurse, threatening a member of his synagogue and evading bridge tolls.

Why It Matters

Braun’s case highlights the controversy surrounding Trump’s use of presidential clemency, which frequently bypassed the Justice Department’s traditional review process and at times favored people with connections to Trump or his allies.

Braun is not the only person to have been granted clemency by Trump to go on to reoffend, according to The Atlantic. Others include Eli Weinstein, who was charged with fraud after his release, and Philip Esformes, who was later charged with domestic violence following a prior Medicare fraud conviction.

Several people pardoned for their roles in the January 6 Capitol attack ran into serious legal trouble shortly after their releases.

What To Know

Braun, 41 from Long Island, was originally sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in 2019 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to import more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and money laundering.

Prosecutors said that he trafficked more than $6 million in marijuana per week using boats and private planes, and that he laundered around $14 million in drug proceeds.

Braun’s sentence was commuted by Trump after his family hired lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who had represented Trump during his first impeachment trial, to lobby on his behalf.

Trump commuted his sentence before leaving office in January 2021, freeing Braun after about a year in prison.

In April 2022, Braun was photographed with the former president at a Trump property in Florida, as reported by The New York Times, though Braun said it was a chance meeting and not linked to his release.

Although Braun was released, the rest of his sentence, including a fine and strict behavioral conditions, remained in place.

Since having his sentence commuted, Braun was arrested several times. Last year, he was arrested after Nassau County prosecutors accused him of punching his 75-year-old father-in-law, who was intervening as Braun allegedly attacked his wife.

He was also arrested in April after being accused of assaulting an acquaintance and their three-year-old child.

Braun was ordered to be detained and a later revocation hearing determined that he had committed six violations of his supervised release, though the judge ruled that the alleged assault on the acquaintance and child did not meet the burden of proof.

Prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York recommended Braun be jailed for five years in a court filing on October 31.

They listed several of his alleged offenses and other ways in which he violated his terms of release, including being dishonest about his employment and finances.

“The defendant’s conduct reflects that he is a serious danger to the community and a lengthy term of imprisonment is necessary to protect the public from further crimes,” prosecutors said in the filing.

On Monday, Braun was sentenced to 27 months in prison by Judge Kiyo Matsumoto of Federal District Court in Brooklyn, though he will only have to serve 20 due to credit for time served.

He must also serve three and a half years of supervised release following his sentence, and undergo six months of treatment for drug abuse and mental illness.

What People Are Saying

Jonathan Braun said in a Brooklyn court on Monday, per The New York Times: “I have no one to blame other than my own actions… It’s all on me.” He thanked the judge for jailing him earlier this year, saying the time in custody “saved my life” and allowed him to get sober.

Judge Kiyo Matsumoto of Federal District Court in Brooklyn noted Braun’s previous sentence commutation in court on Monday, per The New York Times: “Very few people are able to achieve this kind of privilege, second chance.”