FACT CHECK: Lombardo PAC is Lying – AG Ford Did Not Ask For Norman Smith To Be Released Early

The latest desperate ad by Joe Lombardo’s PAC is based on a complete and total lie: Attorney General Ford did not ask for an early release for Norman Smith. This latest in a long string of false ads from Lombardo’s team is yet another attempt to distract from the fact that under Joe Lombardo and Donald Trump, working families cannot afford their grocery, gas, health care, and housing costs.

Here are the facts:

Ford informed the Pardons Board more than 24 hours in advance that he would be absent due to a family emergency. Following the meeting, General Ford has unequivocally stated that he would have voted ‘no’ to any form of clemency or sentence modification for Norman Smith — the same as his colleagues.
Pardons board members sponsoring clemency applications to check on the progress of an inmate is standard and doesn’t mean a member will vote in favor of said application.
Smith’s attorney sought a modification to Smith’s sentence on a separate robbery charge – which was supported by the prosecutor in that case – not changes to Smith’s voluntary manslaughter sentence. Because his attorney did not seek a modification to his voluntary manslaughter charge, Smith was going to remain in prison regardless of the outcome of the pardons board hearing.
On the pardons board, General Ford has voted with Lombardo more than 90% of the time – there is no meaningful daylight between their actions regarding pardons.

“Attorney General Ford has made clear that he would have voted no on pardoning Norman Smith, and that submitting a clemency application to check on the progress of an inmate does not in any way indicate support for that inmate’s pardon. Lombardo and his PAC know this, and are choosing to lie anyway because they are desperate to distract from the fact that Lombardo has spent the last four years raising costs on working families while padding the pockets of Trump’s ‘billionaire friends’,” said Prerna Jagadeesh, spokesperson for Ford for Governor. “Lombardo’s shameful choice to politicize this tragic murder reflects the fact that he has no real solutions to offer Nevadans struggling to afford to live in his failed economy.”

BACKGROUND on Ford’s tough-on-crime record:

When Joe Lombardo betrayed state police and voted against their pay increases, Aaron Ford made sure the vote passed and officers got the pay raises they deserve.
When a Lombardo-endorsed prosecutor refused to prosecute a 40 year old murder case, Ford took over the case and delivered justice.
Ford led the efford to clear Nevada’s rape kit backlog and bring justice to victims, leading to 1,100 DNA matches and 64 arrests as of 2021.
While Ford has spent his time putting child predators in jail, Joe Lombardo is endorsed by and supports Donald Trump, whose name appears in the Epstein files more than 5,300 times.
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