INDIANAPOLIS – Any decision about whether or not to pardon former Clark County Sheriff and longtime Republican operative Jamey Noel of his crimes won’t come from the Holcomb administration, Gov. Eric Holcomb said Friday.
“I would just repeat what I’ve said — that never once did he utter one unethical word to me in that friendship,” Holcomb said. “… it will be a question for a successor.”
Earlier this week, Noel pleaded guilty to 27 felony charges as part of a massive, ongoing corruption case that could put Noel behind bars for more than a decade.
Noel led Holcomb’s campaign in 2016 and was part of his transition team. He also served as chairman of Holcomb’s reelection bid and, before Holcomb, attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C. on a personal invitation from former Gov. Mike Pence, who was Trump’s vice president.
But Holcomb, speaking during a virtual Zoom press conference from Slovakia, said that the pardoning process would require a review of the conviction and sentencing. As of Friday, the judge assigned to the case hadn’t yet accepted Noel’s guilty plea nor had a sentencing hearing been scheduled.
“Per Indiana code, there’s a pardoning process that has to unfold,” Holcomb said. “And so in this case, from what I’ve read, this would be way after my term concluded.”
Holcomb is term-limited and will end his second term in January. Three candidates have won their respective party nominations and are vying to succeed him: Republican Mike Braun, Democrat Jennifer McCormick, and Libertarian Donald Rainwater.
Read more of the Whitney Downard story for the Indiana Capital Chronicle, here.
