The charges against then-Cincinnati Council members P.G. Sittenfeld, Tamaya Dennard, and Jeff Pastor sparked huge headlines when they dropped in 2020.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation had been looking into Cincinnati City Hall for two years by that point. All three cases involved allegations the Council members had taken money from donors in exchange for votes or other official actions. Beyond that, however, they were unconnected and their cases had some key differences.

Dennard and Pastor eventually pleaded guilty. Sittenfeld and his attorneys, however, tried to fight his case all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

Northern Kentucky University Law Professor Ken Katkin says that fight is likely the biggest reason why Sittenfeld netted a pardon from President Donald Trump thi

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