Murderer whose life sentence was commuted by Trump convicted of domestic violence

Davidson, who was convicted in the murder of a federal law enforcement officer in 1990, shared an attorney with Donald Trump Jr.

Jaime A. Davidson in January 2022 (YouTube/Screenshot)

A drug kingpin convicted in the murder of a federal law enforcement officer had his life sentence commuted by President Donald Trump on January 20, 2021, the last day of Trump's term. Now, the man set free by Trump, Jaime A. Davidson, was accused by authorities of strangling his wife during a 2023 dispute, convicted by a jury of domestic violence, and, in July 2024, sentenced to three months in jail, according to court records obtained by Popular Information. Davidson's reoffence has not been previously reported.

Trump's commutation of Davidson's life sentence was controversial at the time because of the severity of Davidson's offense and the atypical process that led to his release. Requests for pardons and commutations usually are handled through the Office of the Pardon Attorney. Davidson had sought the commutation of his life sentence through official channels in 2013 and 2017 and was denied both times.

In the waning days of Trump's presidency, Davidson eschewed the Office of the Pardon Attorney and sought relief directly from Trump. Davidson's attorney Betty Schein, had deep connections to the Trump White House. Schein and her husband, Alan Futerfas, represented people associated with the Trump Organization, including Donald Trump Jr. 

Davidson's request for commutation also won the support of Alice Johnson, a woman whose life sentence was commuted by Trump after reality star Kim Kardashian championed her case. Johnson appeared in a 2020 Super Bowl ad supporting Trump's reelection and her support of Davidson was highlighted in the White House press release announcing the commutation of Davidson's sentence. According to Johnson, Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner assisted her in winning Trump's support for Davidson and others. 

The prosecutor in Davidson's 1990 conviction, John Duncan, was never contacted and was dumbfounded by the decision. "If you ask me for a list of people who nobody should give a presidential commutation to,” Duncan told the New York Times in 2021, “Davidson would pretty much be at the top of the list.”

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

The murder of Wallie Howard Jr. 

Davidson was convicted of the murder of Wallie Howard Jr., who was working undercover as a federal agent. Howard was shot in the back of the head in a Syracuse, New York, grocery store parking lot in 1990. According to authorities, Davidson was a drug kingpin in New York and recruited three men to rob Howard of $42,000 that Howard planned to use to buy four pounds of cocaine. 

Wallie Howard Jr. (Syracuse Police Department, New York)

Robert Lawrence, a teenager at the time, testified at trial that Davidson handed him a .357 revolver hours before he shot Howard. Although Davidson was not present when Howard was killed, prosecutors successfully argued that Howard's death was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the robbery planned by Davidson. 

On July 2, 1993, Davidson was sentenced to life in prison without parole. 

The battery of Nayeli Chang

On March 31, 2023, a little more than two years after Davidson was set free by Trump, Davidson was arrested in Orlando, Florida, and charged with battery by strangulation and domestic violence. Davidson was accused of attacking Nayeli Chang, his wife of five months. 

At trial, Chang testified that she was at her home with Davidson on the night of March 31, 2023. She looked at Davidson's cell phone and discovered that Davidson was planning to leave the marriage as soon as a room was ready in another residence. Chang confronted Davidson, who was sleeping, and told him to leave immediately.

Chang testified that Davidson got up and "grabbed me by the neck with his left hand and choked me." She told him to "let me go because I can't breathe." Chang said that Davidson grabbed her very hard, and when "I tried to release myself using two hands, I couldn't." According to Chang, she "felt weak, and my body started feeling cold." Chang said she "thought she was going to die" and "the only thing I could think of was my child who was in the other bedroom." The prosecution introduced photographs showing red marks when Chang said Davidson's nails dug into her skin. 

Davidson let go, Chang said, only when she threatened to call the police. 

Chang testified that Davidson told her "she couldn't call the police" because, if she did, she would be deported, and they would take away her son. According to Chang, Davidson also advised her that "he is the government." She called the police anyway. 

Davidson's 54-page email

Davidson did not testify at trial but sent a 54-page email in January 2024 harshly attacking his wife. The email was sent to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), State Attorney Andrew Bain, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services fraud department, Orlando's Spectrum News 13, and others. It was forwarded to the trial court and included in Davidson's case file. 

The email begins with a letter from Davidson accusing prosecutors of "striving to make their names" and "protecting a known undocumented illegal immigrant & most importantly, a CRIMINAL… that's abusing of the system to acquire her U.S. Residency Papers." Davidson said that his case was a matter of "National Importance" since it was a "clear abuse of Gov. DeSantis's new [sic] signed Bill 1718, that was passed into law to protect U.S. Citizens and Floridians." He said the charges against him were an example of "innocent U.S. Citizens that are being targeted by criminals."

Davidson wrote that prosecutors should have "taken a step back and looked up how Mr. Davidson was released from federal prison by Former President Donald J. Trump." He then quoted from the White House press release announcing his clemency. 

Davidson also accused his wife of "living a double life as a prostitute and hiding her money," "driving drunk with her 8-year-old son in the vehicle," and "coming in at all hours dead drunk and urinating on the bed and living room couch." He concluded the email by asking for an "ICE Agent and/or Court Police Officer, to DETAIN" his wife. He said that ICE ERO [Enforcement and Removal Operations] needs to "process Ms. Chang and take her off the streets of the United States."

Davidson made similar claims during a hearing regarding a temporary restraining order sought by Chang on April 5, 2023. The judge rejected Davidson's claims, finding that the allegations "belie[] credibility" and don't "make sense."

Guilty of domestic violence

During closing statements, Davidson's lawyer argued that Chang had made up the entire story. According to Davidson's lawyer, Chang was upset that if Davidson left her, she wouldn't benefit from a large financial settlement once Davidson proved he was wrongfully convicted of the 1990 murder. Davidson's lawyer also argued that Chang made up the story to avoid being deported and to obtain citizenship through the Violence Against Women Act. 

The Florida jury found Davidson guilty of battery and domestic violence. Davidson was found not guilty of battery by strangulation, which requires a finding that the victim was placed at risk of "great bodily harm." 

At his sentencing hearing, Davidson expressed no remorse, said he is "an innocent man," and continued to maintain that his wife had fabricated the assault. Davidson told the court that he would "never disrespect a woman" and "there's no bone in my body as a violent person."

The judge sentenced Davidson to three months in county jail and twelve months of supervised probation. Although Davidson's murder sentence was commuted, he is still on supervised release, the federal equivalent of probation. As a result of the battery conviction, federal prosecutors have filed a violation of the terms of his supervised release, and Davidson could potentially face years more in federal prison. 

Davidson has appealed his domestic violence conviction, and proceedings for the violation of his federal supervised release have been delayed pending that appeal. The next hearing for the alleged federal violation is scheduled for November 23, 2024. 

Others granted clemency by Trump find themselves in legal trouble

Davidson is not the only person Trump set free who has found themselves in legal hot water. The record raises serious questions about the atypical process used by Trump.

Jonathan Braun, "a New York drug dealer and predatory lender," was sentenced to ten years in federal prison in 2019 "for conspiracy to import marijuana and to commit money laundering" before being granted clemency by Trump. Braun was arrested in August "after he allegedly punched his 75-year-old father-in-law in the head." His father-in-law, according to prosecutors, was trying "to protect his daughter" who Braun "was chasing after her while the couple had an argument in their home." Braun's wife "told police that Mr. Braun had assaulted her twice in the past five weeks." 

Braun "had a history of violence — including throwing a man off a deck in 2018 and years earlier, beating an underling with a belt." But Braun received a commutation from Trump after contacting the father of Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law. According to the New York Times, Kushner's office in the White House "ultimately drafted the language used in the news release to announce [Braun's] commutation."

Trump also commuted the 24-year prison sentence of Eliyahu Weinstein, who was convicted of running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded "investors of a total of $230 million." In February 2024, Weinstein was indicted in another fraud scheme. According to prosecutors, "soon after Weinstein got out of jail after receiving a Presidential commutation, he picked his Ponzi schemer’s playbook back up and allegedly started ripping off victims again." Using the fake name "Mike Konig," Weinstein allegedly "persuaded investors to put money into several ventures, based on taking advantage of the COVID pandemic, the baby formula shortage, and even the war in Ukraine." But prosecutors say "those ventures weren’t real."

Rebecca Crosby and Noel Sims contributed additional reporting for this story.

CORRECTION (9/3): This article initially claimed that Davidson was the first known clemency recipient to be convicted of another crime. That is incorrect. Steve Bannon received a pardon and was subsequently convicted of contempt of Congress.