He said it in public. These are the documents on what happened next. Browse all records.
Why these cases
Trump sold “America First.” This record traces how public money, power, and risk moved toward family businesses, donors, favored firms, and foreign governments: and what workers, ranchers, retirees, patients, veterans, and small investors were left to absorb.
Trump clemency advocacy: six-figure fees, DOJ routing and investigations
Actions
reportedThe New York Times reported a first-term market in which Trump associates collected fees to press clemency requests outside the ordinary Justice Department channel. Disclosures showed Brett Tolman received $22,500 to seek clemency for Ross Ulbricht, while an agreement paid former Trump campaign adviser Karen Giorno $50,000 to seek John Kiriakou's pardon and promised another $50,000 if she obtained it. The report said Kiriakou was not pardoned and stated that paid clemency advocacy was legal absent an exchange with the president.The New York TimesRead record · 1 sourcedocumentedThe Justice Department's clemency roster records Trump's November 14, 2025 pardon of Joseph Schwartz. The filing establishes the fee and advocacy; the timing does not by itself establish that Trump received the money or exchanged the pardon for it.U.S. Department of JusticeCBS NewsRead record · 2 sources
Outcomes
reportedCBS News reported that about 70% of Trump's second-term clemency actions had not been routed through the Justice Department process, rising to 92% when January 6 cases were included. CBS also reported broker fees as high as $3 million and quoted Brett Tolman saying he expected to handle 40 or 50 clemency cases. The White House said it had a robust review process and that paying lobbyists was a waste of money; former pardon attorney Ed Martin said he had not seen a quid pro quo.CBS NewsCBS News / 60 MinutesRead record · 2 sources
documentedCove Strategies reported $750,000 in fourth-quarter 2020 income from Parker H. Petit for work that included a pardon request and other criminal-justice policy issues, with the Executive Office of the President as the only listed contacted office. Axios reported that Matt Schlapp led the firm and that Petit did not receive a pardon.Open cited recordestimateCampaign Legal Center reports nearly $5.2 million in disclosed 2025 payments from clients seeking Trump clemency. This is lobbying expenditure, not money paid to the president, and excludes undisclosed advocacy.Open cited recorddocumentedMO Strategies' Q1 2026 lobbying report for Blessinger Legal lists $500,000 in income. The issue description covers immigration and pardon-related discussions; the Executive Office of the President and Department of Justice are listed as contacted entities. The filing names Martin Obst and Robert Goad as lobbyists and identifies Goad's former covered position as Special Assistant to the President.Open cited recorddocumentedJ M Burkman & Associates reported $960,000 in second-quarter 2025 income from Joseph Schwartz for work described as a federal pardon and related Justice Department matters. The report names Jack Burkman as the lobbyist and lists the Executive Office of the President as a contacted entity.Open cited recordreportedTorence Hatch, known as Boosie Badazz, told 60 Minutes he paid Burkman and Wohl $600,000 up front after being led to believe the effort would obtain a pardon. Trump did not pardon him. CBS reported that Hatch filed an arbitration claim seeking a refund; Burkman said no final written agreement was signed, denied owing a refund, and he and Wohl denied sending cited text messages.Open cited record
Clemency applicants using the Justice Department channel
allegedA partially unsealed federal-court order described a Justice Department investigation into an alleged secret lobbying scheme and a related bribery conspiracy in which a substantial political contribution would be offered in exchange for a presidential pardon or reprieve. The public order redacted the people involved and did not identify Trump or any government official as a subject or target.U.S. District Court for the District of ColumbiaRead record · 1 sourcereportedHouse Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin and other Democratic lawmakers said they planned to investigate the pardon-broker market if their party gained subpoena power. CBS reported that the committee's minority status left it unable to compel records or testimony at the time. The announcement is an oversight plan, not a criminal charge or adjudication.CBS NewsRead record · 1 source
Amounts and affected parties
feeReported 2025 clemency lobbying payments (approximate)Nearly $5.2 million
Reported fee payer / source
Clients seeking Trump clemency with disclosed 2025 lobbying payments
Reported fee recipient
Lobbying firms and advocates named in the cited disclosures
Financially affected
Clients whose clemency-related lobbying payments were disclosed for 2025
feeBurkman-Wohl fee quoted to Covino$300,000
Reported fee payer / source
Ammon Covino (prospective payer; no payment)
Reported fee recipient
Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl (quoted brokers)
otherReported clemency-broker fee ceiling$3 million
Measured subject
Clemency seekers quoted broker fees
feeReported Tolman fee for Ulbricht clemency advocacy$22,500
feeCove Strategies reported income from Petit$750,000
Fee payer / source
Parker H. Petit
Fee recipient
Cove Strategies
feeReported Schwartz lobbying payment$960,000
Fee payer / source
Joseph Schwartz
Fee recipient
J M Burkman & Associates
feeHatch's reported upfront payment$600,000
Reported fee payer / source
Torence Hatch
Reported fee recipient
Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl
Promise and assessment
The promise
reportedCBS News recorded Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl quoting Ammon Covino $300,000 and describing a campaign of events, influencers, members of Congress and White House contacts intended to put sustained pressure on Trump. Covino was working with CBS; he did not hire or pay them, and no pardon resulted from the recorded pitch.CBS NewsCBS News / 60 MinutesRead record · 2 sources
Promise unresolved
Paid advocacy directed at Trump's clemency process is documented across both administrations. First-term records include a $750,000 engagement that did not produce a pardon and retainers or contingent fees charged by Trump-connected advocates. In the second term, a lobbying filing recorded $960,000 from Joseph Schwartz before Trump pardoned him; CBS recorded a separate $300,000 pitch, documented a disputed $600,000 payment for an unsuccessful effort, and found that about 70 percent of second-term clemency actions were not routed through the Justice Department channel, or 92 percent including January 6 cases. A 2020 federal order described a separate alleged bribery-for-pardon investigation, and lawmakers have announced further oversight plans. These records document recurring paid clemency advocacy and disclosed six-figure fees. They do not establish that Trump received the brokers' fees or prove a criminal quid pro quo by Trump.