DOJ's program to restore gun rights to felons raises questions about transparency

One name on the list is raising questions about transparency. National DOJ's program to restore gun rights to felons raises questions about transparency March 12, 20264:44 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition Jaclyn Diaz DOJ's program to restore gun rights to felons raises questions about transparency Listen &middot; 2:42 2:42 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5744786/nx-s1-9684757" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript The Department of Justice has quietly restarted a decades-dormant program to restore gun rights to felons. One name on the list is raising questions about transparency. Sponsor Message STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Some other news now. The Justice Department quietly restarted a program that allows some people with felony criminal records to regain their federal gun rights. NPR's Jaclyn Diaz reports. JACLYN DIAZ, BYLINE: More than a decade ago, 74-year-old Nick Sabatine filed a false tax return. He admitted to his crime and pleaded guilty to the felony charge. NICK SABATINE: I did my sentence. I paid my fines. I paid my taxes. DIAZ: But like so many other people in the country who are convicted of or plead guilty to a felony, this meant Sabatine lost his right to use or own a gun. The Pennsylvania resident says he stayed out of trouble and continued with his law practice. SABATINE: Adding additional laws to my second amend rights didn't seem to make any sense. DIAZ: This mark on his criminal record still meant there was little recourse for Sabatine to get his gun back. That is, until last month, when Sabatine was one of 22 people the Justice Department listed to get their gun rights back. SABATINE: It's a signal that we are a compassionate country and we appreciate freedom. That's the message I get from what the administration did. DIAZ: Some people are worried about the DOJ's effort. When the DOJ dropped the list, there was no identifying information about people on the list or their crimes. Kris Brown is president of the gun violence prevention Group Brady United. KRIS BROWN: It does not help responsible gun owners to have convicted felons having their gun rights restored who may have a propensity of dangerousness. DIAZ: The DOJ says most people had committed no other crimes, aside from the ones committed decades ago. And NPR's review of the list shows most of the people on the list met that criteria. That is, except one person, Arizona state Senator Jake Hoffman. He was indicted in an Arizona fake elector scheme to keep Trump in the White House in 2020. He received a pardon from Trump last year but still faces those charges in Arizona. To Brown with Brady United, Hoffman's inclusion is a red flag. BROWN: It's very, very concerning about how it is some of these people are getting on this list and whether the evaluation is how much you've given to Trump. DIAZ: Federal Election Commission data does show someone with the same name in Arizona district as Hoffman, giving about $600 to various Republican causes in 2024. Hoffman didn't respond to our request to speak to him. Sabatine, for his part, says he's just excited to go hunting again. Jaclyn Diaz, NPR News. (SOUNDBITE OF MATHIAS DUPLESSY AND THE VIOLINS OF THE WORLD'S "PAULINDA") Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor MessageBecome an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1167:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(323)},323:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(84)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1140),c(116),c(94),c(52),c(493),c(239),c(102),c(104),c(1141),c(143),c(1142),c(238),c(48),c(1143)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1167,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();