Joe Exotic's legal team reacts to Trump not pardoning 'Tiger King' star, insist he's 'not guilty'
A legal team defending Joe Exotic is asking President Donald Trump to pardon the infamous Tiger King.
Joe Exotic's legal team says they are "disappointed" former President Trump failed to pardon the "Tiger King" star as he continues to serve a 22-year prison sentence.
Trump issued more than 100 pardons and commutations early Wednesday as one of his last tasks at the White House ahead of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' inauguration ceremony.
Private investigator Eric Love, who is part of Exotic's legal team, tells Fox News he's not guilty of his convicted crimes.
"140 million Joe Exotic fans had a hard time getting out of bed this morning. We are as disappointed that [Trump] did not sign Joe’s Pardon, as we were confident [Tuesday] that he would. It is only because of you 140 million fans that Joe’s Pardon was even a possibility. Since his trial, the evidence has made it clear that Joe is not guilty but, rather, he is a victim of the persons he trusted most," Love said in a statement.
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Exotic's spokesperson added that his team -- "Team Tiger" -- on Wednesday "spent two hours on the telephone with Joe and listened to his Direct Appeal Oral Arguments by Brandon Sample in Colorado."
"We will not stop, we will not rest until Joe's injustice is corrected," Love vowed.
On Tuesday evening, Love voiced confidence that the "Tiger King" star would be receiving a pardon before Trump's four-year term ended. His legal team pulled up in a limousine to the Texas prison where Exotic is being held in the chance he was pardoned, KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City reported.
Exotic shared his own fury with Trump for passing over his pardon. In a statement believed to be his Twitter account, Exotic allegedly wrote: "I was too innocent and too GAY to deserve a Pardon from Trump. I only mattered to Don Jr. when he needed to make a comment about me to boost his social media post."
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"Boy were we all stupid to believe he actually stood for Equal Justice? His corrupt friends all come first," it continues.
In April 2019, Exotic was convicted and served a 22-year prison sentence for his role in a murder-for-hire plot that targeted Baskin. He was also sentenced for killing five tigers, selling tiger cubs and falsifying wildlife records, yet has maintained his innocence.
Online prison records viewed by Fox News show that Exotic is currently housed at the Federal Medical Center Fort Worth and is expected to be released on July 30, 2037.
Fox News on Wednesday caught up with Exotic's chief rival Carole Baskin as documented in the "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem & Madness" Netflix series. The Big Cat Rescue founder said she found Trump's snub against Exotic relieving.
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"I'm taking a deep breath because I feel such a sense of relief," Baskin shared. "From the very time that he was sentenced I have worried about there being a presidential pardon that could undo all of the hard work that went into bringing this person to justice. When today at noon a new president was sworn in, I felt like I was finally safe from that threat."
Baskin added that she believes Exotic "absolutely belongs behind bars."
What's more, Baskin said Exotic could still help himself by turning over state's evidence that could trim years off of his sentence.
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