“The Justice Department has named a veteran political corruption prosecutor from Philadelphia, Robert Zauzmer, to oversee the office that reviews applications for presidential pardons and commutations.
“Zauzmer faces a daunting task: digging through more than 10,000 applications to determine which to recommend granting and which should be denied. The backlog has mushroomed in the past couple of years after President Barack Obama announced a ‘clemency initiative’ to offer early release to convicts who are serving long terms for drug crimes and meet other criteria.”