Democrats vow to investigate Trump pardon brokers if party controls Congress

Senior Democratic lawmakers vowed Monday to investigate the new market that has sprung up around President Trump's pardons, citing CBS News video of lobbyists offering to "put pressure on the president" in exchange for a hefty fee from a convicted felon.

"They've basically converted the president's pardon power into a for-profit industry," said Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. He added that Democrats are "looking at everybody along the assembly line of clemency for cash." 

The video appeared as part of a 60 Minutes investigative report Sunday that chronicled the rise of a lucrative "pardon broker" cottage industry operating around Mr. Trump's White House. The report highlighted how lobbyists and brokers are charging felons up to millions of dollars to sidestep the traditional Justice Department clemency process, using insider access and social media influencers to push presidential pardons. 

 CBS News used hidden cameras to expose how the pardon-broker industry operates. Ammon Covino, a convicted felon sentenced for illegally trafficking wildlife, contacted a number of pardon brokers, including the right-wing provocateurs and lobbyists Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl. Captured on video at a Virginia hotel, Burkman and Wohl promised to put a "pincer movement" on the president, for a $300,000 fee. They said they would apply continuous pressure through White House insiders and MAGA influencers rather than go through the  traditional process.

Burkman and Wohl rejected the suggestion that they are part of a pay-to-play marketplace, saying they are lobbyists operating within the law. A White House spokesperson said the administration has a robust review process involving the White House counsel's office, the Justice Department and the pardon czar, with Mr. Trump as the final decider, and said anyone paying to lobby for a pardon is wasting money

Ed Martin, who served as the Justice Department's pardon attorney until leaving the administration on Sept. 4, denied the existence of a transactional pardon economy in an interview with 60 Minutes.   

"When people say 'there's brokers, there's quid pro quo,' I've never seen it. I haven't seen it. I haven't heard it," Martin said.

The CBS News investigation laid out how the traditional Justice Department clemency process, which weighs remorse and rehabilitation, has been largely sidelined. A data analysis showed that roughly 70% of Trump's second-term clemency actions bypassed the traditional DOJ process entirely. Instead, prominent brokers like former U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah Brett Tolman said openly they submit petitions directly to the White House, advising clients that waiting on the Justice Department offers little chance of approval.

"It's kind of an underground market because not everybody knows how to get to it," Raskin said. He added that money given to pardon brokers "could be funneled in a lot of different directions, in business directions, in political directions," and that "we have never seen a saturated corruption of the pardon process like this before."

The House Judiciary Committee has oversight of the Justice Department and its pardon attorney's office, and clemency is expected to be a priority should Democrats take a majority in the lower chamber in the 2026 midterm elections. Democrats' minority status in both chambers renders them unable to compel documents or testimony. 

Last month, Democrats on the House panel released a report titled "Pardon Inc.," which said this "shocking new descent in presidential ethics and conduct undermines the federal justice system."

At least one prominent Republican also criticized the way clemency operates under Mr. Trump. On Monday, former Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X her disapproval of the current system, with a link to the 60 Minutes report.  

"This accurately gives a glimpse into how MAGA world works and how to peel the closest layers to Trump," wrote Green, who had been a stalwart supporter of Mr. Trump before falling out with him over the administration's handling of the Epstein files and other matters. "It's all pay to play and who you are paying and who you know," Green continued in her post.  

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said on X that Mr. Trump "is selling pardons in a scheme that amounts to bribery," and that "all of this will be investigated and, if necessary, prosecuted when Democrats retake Congress in November."

Even though the new playbook based on access marks a sharp  departure from the original intent of presidential mercy, clemency expert Mark Osler, a law professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, said proving a quid pro quo that could amount to criminal conduct is far "more difficult for prosecutors."

Another top Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, said the conduct described in the 60 Minutes investigation was "very disturbing." He is the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee. 

Other Democrats were more blunt in response to the story. "Ban the pardon," Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, posted on X. "It's just straight-up bribery at this point." 

"A little louder for the people in the back: The Trump Administration is the most corrupt administration in the history of the United States," said California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential candidate. 

Raskin said he does not expect the brokers or their clients to cooperate willingly with his investigation. "I don't think any of these people will come and appear voluntarily," he said.

In a statement, White House Counsel Will Scharf said, "President Trump performs his constitutional duties in an ethically sound manner and to suggest so otherwise is either ill-informed or malicious."