How Trump's Presidential Pardons Became a Pay to Play Industry
Disclaimer: This article draws from recent reporting by the Wall Street Journal and additional independent analysis by my law firm. I encourage you to read the original reporting, review the facts for yourself, and do your own due diligence before reaching conclusions.
This week, the Wall Street Journal reported that allies and lobbyists close to President Donald Trump have been seeking enormous fees from people hoping to obtain presidential pardons. My team rolled up their sleeves and dug into the facts behind that reporting. What we found points to a disturbing pay to play system taking shape around one of the most serious powers in American government.
In Donald Trump’s Washington, freedom has a price tag. The presidential pardon, one of the most serious powers granted by the Constitution, now looks like a product on a shelf. Allies and lobbyists close to the President chase huge sums from convicted defendants and their families in exchange for access to clemency. They treat justice like a private market where cash buys a shortcut out of consequences.
The Wall Street Journal article described a grim baseline. Roughly one million dollars to hire a well placed broker to press a pardon request. Many brokers also push for “success fees,” multi million dollar bonuses if the pardon lands. Some clients have offered as much as five or six million dollars on top of the initial fee. In one reported effort, a pardon seeker floated potential payments in the tens of millions, hoping sheer money would force the door open. This is the environment surrounding Trump’s pardon power.
These intermediaries sell proximity. The playbook stays the same. A pardon seeker pays a staggering fee. The broker claims a direct line to Trump’s inner circle. A name gets raised at a fundraiser, a private meeting, a club dinner, a hallway pull aside. The request finds its way onto the President’s desk. If the signature comes, the broker cashes out, and the client walks away. That is the culture now.
How the Access Machine Works
One example captures the whole arrangement. At a White House ceremony, Donald Trump Jr. allegedly escorted lobbyist Ches McDowell to meet his father. During the event, Trump Jr. introduced McDowell to the President. McDowell raised a client’s pardon request directly.
The client was Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Zhao faced federal charges and massive penalties tied to anti money laundering failures. The President agreed quickly. The pardon moved with unusual speed. Advisers inside Trump’s orbit reportedly learned about the decision late in the process, after the track had already been laid.
Money sits at the center of the story. Binance spent around $800,000 on lobbyists to press for Zhao’s pardon and other policy goals. The company reportedly offered success payments of up to $5 million to anyone who could deliver. Binance also paid McDowell significant sums during the same period. The payoff for Zhao was enormous. Clemency reduced exposure and opened the path for a return to the U.S. market. This looks like a pardon treated as a business move, not a solemn act of public mercy.
Felons as Fixers
Another case shows how far this culture reaches. Political operatives Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman pleaded guilty to felony fraud in recent years. In Trump’s ecosystem, a criminal record does not end a career. It can become a credential if the person claims access to the right circles.
Wohl and Burkman received nearly one million dollars from a wealthy nursing home owner convicted of defrauding the government. They used their connections in Trump world to allegedly press for a pardon. The President granted clemency. Wohl and Burkman collected $960,000 for their work. That outcome sends a blunt message. Influence pays. Consequences shrink for clients with money.
A Costly Example That Still Shows the Market
A separate episode highlights the scale of the money, even when the effort fails. A cryptocurrency investor and early Bitcoin adopter pursued a pardon and approached multiple Trump connected figures. His team reportedly allegedly offered contingent fees ranging from $5 million up to $30 million if someone secured clemency. The investor later allegedly hired Trump ally Roger Stone. He paid Stone $600,000 for roughly two months of advocacy work behind the scenes. The pardon did not come. The investor later resolved the matter through the Justice Department process. The lesson still lands. Enormous sums get spent chasing access alone.
The Shadow Channel that Pushes Aside the Justice Department
Under ordinary practice, the Office of the Pardon Attorney collects petitions, reviews records, and weighs rehabilitation, fairness, and input from prosecutors. The process moves slowly by design. Career officials look for consistency, and they work to protect the integrity of clemency.
Trump’s second term has pushed that structure aside. Many reported pardon efforts bypass the normal review. Requests flow through a parallel network of donors, allies, media figures, and family connected gatekeepers. Pardons surface through private advocacy and personal relationships. Even staff inside the White House have been surprised by clemency decisions that appear to appear late, with limited internal vetting. The outcome resembles a private lane reserved for the wealthy and the connected.
This pattern sits next to Trump’s broader approach to clemency. Early in his second term he issued sweeping pardons connected to January 6th. He has continued granting clemency at a pace that draws attention, often tied to personal relationships, political loyalty, or public relations narratives. A system built on discretion turns dangerous when discretion answers to access.
What This Does to You and Your Family
Picture what this means in real life. If you or someone you love faced an unjust sentence, would you have a million dollars for a broker. Most families do not. Your petition would sit in a stack, waiting for a formal review that can take years. Meanwhile, a billionaire pays for a direct line, and the request reaches the President through a family member at a ceremony. The system looks less like equal justice and more like a private club with a cover charge.
This erodes a core promise of American law. Equal justice under law means wealth does not purchase special treatment. A pardon marketplace shreds that promise. It tells working families that rules apply differently, depending on who writes the check.
The Legal Exposure Hiding in Plain Sight
The ethical problem is obvious. The legal problem demands attention.
Federal bribery laws exist to stop people from buying official acts. Honest services fraud laws target schemes that deprive the public of honest government through corruption. Influence peddling schemes have been prosecuted when money flows toward decision makers or toward intermediaries positioned to deliver government action through corrupt channels.
A pardon is an official act. If a broker takes money with the understanding that the payment buys clemency through personal influence, prosecutors can look at the structure as a potential corruption scheme. Even if the money does not land in Trump’s personal accounts, a system that rewards access, cash, and insider influence creates real risk for intermediaries and clients. It also raises hard questions about whether anyone inside government aided a corrupt pathway, or whether the President’s circle created one.
Trump’s public posture has done nothing to restore trust. When asked about pay to play concerns, he brushed them aside and treated the reported activity as normal business. A President who shrugs at a clemency cash market signals permission. People watch, learn, and copy.
The Damage Takes Years
This is bigger than one pardon. This is a wound to public faith in the rule of law. When people believe justice is for sale, cynicism grows. When cynicism grows, democracy weakens. People disengage. People give up. People stop believing accountability exists.
As a lawyer and an American, I see the risk clearly. A President must protect constitutional norms, not bend them to reward allies and enrich the ecosystem around him. A pardon marketplace turns mercy into leverage. It turns law into a tool for the well connected. It teaches the next generation that power matters more than principle.
What You Do Next
Refuse to accept this as normal. Talk about it. Share the facts. Demand oversight that follows the money, the contracts, the intermediaries, and the access points. Push for investigations that test whether corruption statutes apply and whether federal enforcement will treat this like any other influence scheme.
This is an American issue. No President should operate above the law. No circle of insiders should cash in on freedom. You do not need permission to speak up. Use your voice. Use your vote. Call out the people who profit from this rot. The rule of law survives when citizens defend it in the open.
Mitch Jackson, Esq. | On LinkedIn
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This issue made it into The Raw Story https://www.rawstory.com/trump-2674833599/