Those who seek forgiveness and those who press on their behalf have paid allies President Trump
Donald TrumpFacebook temporarily bans ads for gun accessories following the Capitol riots. Sasse, in a fiery opinion, says QAnon is destroying section 230 of the GOP worked after the insurgency, but not before: How to regulate social media MORE tens of thousands of dollars to pressure the president to grant clemency, The New York Times reported Sunday.
The Times, citing documents and interviews with more than three dozen lobbyists and lawyers, reported that the push for pardon has intensified as people realized that Trump’s challenges in the election they would not be effective and that his presidency has come in the last days.
Former federal prosecutor Brett Tolman, who has advised the Trump administration on pardons, is among those who raised tens of thousands of dollars in recent weeks to ask the president to pressure several people, including a son of a former senator of Arkansas, the founder of the online drug market Silk Road and a Manhattan woman who pleaded guilty to fraud, according to the Times.
The Trump administration has said Tolman has helped “less connected” people obtain leniency, and that no public record indicates that Tolman was paid for it.
Friday on TwitterTolman said: “He has represented many for clemency. Some have paid clients, many have been pro bono. I am proud of my team’s clemency work.”
John Dowd, a former Trump personal lawyer, has also grabbed tens of thousands of dollars from clients, including a wealthy sportsman, who noted his close relationship with the president to boost leniency and advised them to discuss Trump’s complaints. on the judicial system.
A former Trump campaign adviser, Karen Giorno, was given $ 50,000 to try to get a pardon by John Kiriakou, a former CIA officer who was convicted of revealing the name of a CIA officer involved in the waterboarding of an American prisoner. A copy of the agreement reached by the Times indicates that he would receive a $ 50,000 bonus if Trump forgave Kiriakou.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump and his administration have operated the pardon system differently than other presidents, which has benefited those connected or able to pay Trump or his allies, forgiveness lawyers told the Times .
“This kind of books out of influence peddling, the system of special privileges, denies consideration of the hundreds of normal people who have obediently aligned themselves as required by Justice Department rules and constitutes a basic violation of the effort. long-standing for this process to look at least fair, “former U.S. pardon lawyer Margaret Love told the newspaper.
It is not illegal to pay the president’s allies to press for a pardon, as only offers of payment to the president could be investigated for violating bribery laws. There has been no evidence that Trump himself offered money in exchange for a clemency.
The Times reported earlier this month, that Trump had openly discussed attempts to do so forgive yourself and their adult children. Any such pardon would only apply to federal offenses and it is unclear whether self-indemnity would be maintained if challenged.
The car crash could come after Trump was charged last week with a charge of inciting violence at the Capitol that resulted in five deaths. The trial in the Senate is scheduled to begin after he leaves office.