Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is currently serving 22 years in prison for attempting to hire a hit man to kill rival Carole Baskin, in addition to numerous federal wildlife violations.
The 61-year-old inmate is currently incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, where he is being treated for prostate cancer.
The disgraced zookeeper expressed his disappointment at the president’s lack of action on Tuesday with an Instagram post featuring an illustration of someone hunched over in the rain. (Commenters guessed it was a character from the anime ‘Naruto’.)
‘President Trump: You forgot me… again’ read the caption.
In the post, Exotic complained about the unfairness of it all, saying, “If I was a crack dealer, maybe if I broke into the capital or even was related to the Bidens. I might have gotten some relief because I was innocently imprisoned.
He added: “Hell the man who killed two FBI agents even [g]no apology today. I can’t even get a new trial based on a known perjury statement.”
Exotic’s post comes days after his lawyer, Levi McCathern, held a press conference at which he claimed he had “new evidence” proving his client’s innocence. according to Fox affiliate KDFW.
According to McCathern, key witnesses, including alleged hit man Allen Glover, have admitted to perjury in the case.
“Joe Exotic didn’t hire anyone to kill anyone,” he said. ‘He was convicted of murder for hire, but there is a problem with that. No one was killed, no one was paid and no one, except Joe, was ever charged.”
JS reached out to the White House for comment on the possibility of Exotic being pardoned, but no one immediately responded.
Exotic has been seeking clemency since he was convicted in 2019, but without success. Rather than trying to flatter the president, Exotic has preferred a hostile approach.
In January 2021, when Exotic was denied a pardon at the end of Trump’s first term, he declared that he was “too innocent and too GAY to deserve a pardon from Trump.”
In June 2023, as Trump faced possible criminal charges, Exotic taunted the then-former president, saying he would “save the world.” [him] a bunk bed and a bed roll” in prison.
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Trump has largely avoided commenting on Exotic’s case.
In April 2020, he told reporters he was unfamiliar with the case, then asked them if they would “recommend a pardon.” He jokingly added: “I’ll take a look.”