In a hidden-camera operation, pardon brokers Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl said that for $300,000, they could help a felon get a pardon from the president. They said their services included working with influencers to advocate for his case.
President Trump? He’s developed his own vetting system: pardoning political allies — including all of the Jan. 6 rioters — as well as a string of unrepentant financial conmen who argued — just like him — that they were wrongly prosecuted.
How do these people get their grievances in the president’s ear? Donations appear to help, and those who-can-pay hire pardon brokers: lawyers and lobbyists who sell their ties to the president, for exorbitant fees. It’s a marketplace of money and mercy.