Pardon Brokers Promise to "Put Pressure on the President" — for a Very High Price

A CBS News investigation found that political insiders are charging enormous amounts of money to help convicted people get pardons from President Trump. A pardon is when a president officially forgives someone for a crime. Reporters used hidden cameras to expose how this secretive business works. They recorded brokers at a fancy hotel near Washington, D.C., making sales pitches to a man they thought was a potential client.

The man was Ammon Covino, who had served nearly two years in federal prison for illegally transporting a shark and a stingray across state lines. CBS News asked Covino to approach the brokers while secretly recording them. Covino had already applied for a pardon on his own, but Trump turned him down. CBS News wanted to see exactly what these brokers promise — and charge — to help people win pardons.

Two brokers named Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl met Covino at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Virginia. They told him they could get him a pardon by October for $300,000. Burkman explained their approach: they try to pressure the president from many directions at once. Both men have a controversial history, including pleading guilty to fraud in Ohio for an illegal phone scheme targeting voters.

For most of American history, people seeking pardons applied through the Justice Department. A team of lawyers would review each case carefully and look at whether the person felt sorry and had changed. Then they would suggest worthy candidates to the president. This process made sure pardons were given fairly and for good reasons.

Under Trump's second term, that traditional process has mostly been skipped. About 70% of Trump's pardons did not go through the Justice Department at all. On his first day back in office, Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people connected to the January 6 Capitol attack. Many other pardons have gone to wealthy or well-connected people, often without a standard review.

This shift has created a booming business for political insiders. Brokers with ties to Trump are now selling their access — or the promise of it — to desperate pardon-seekers. Fees can go as high as $3 million. Law professor Mark Osler runs a free clinic to help people apply for pardons and called the situation deeply unfair, saying the system 'should be free' and 'available to everybody.'

Lawyer Brett Tolman told Covino in a phone call that he sends all pardon requests directly to the White House, bypassing the Justice Department. He also told Covino that his self-filed application had no chance because it was never seen at the White House. Tolman predicted he would handle 40 to 50 pardon cases before Trump's term ends. CBS News sent him questions about his conversation with Covino, but he did not respond.

One troubling example involved Joseph Schwartz, a nursing home operator who pleaded guilty to failing to pay over $38 million in employee taxes and to Medicaid fraud. He received a presidential pardon just three months into a three-year prison sentence. Federal records showed Burkman and Wohl's firm received $960,000 from Schwartz before the pardon was granted. Burkman defended the money, saying: 'We saved his life.'

Victims of Schwartz's failed nursing homes were devastated by the pardon. Melissa Coulson's mother died after being improperly fed at one of Schwartz's facilities. Coulson's family won a nearly $19 million judgment against Schwartz in court but never collected a dollar. When she learned of the pardon, Coulson said the system felt broken and that it had become about 'how much you can pay for it.'

Burkman and Wohl also told Covino they try to get famous MAGA supporters and White House insiders to talk to Trump repeatedly about their clients. Burkman called this strategy a 'pincer movement.' 'We literally want to put the pen in his hand and get him to sign it because he's tired of hearing about it,' Burkman said. The brokers also warned Covino not to make political donations, saying Trump does not respond to that kind of pressure.

Another big change involves what pardon-seekers are told to say in their applications. Traditionally, applicants were expected to admit their crimes and show they were sorry. Now, brokers are telling clients to claim they were unfairly targeted by the justice system instead. Wohl told Covino that admitting guilt is 'not the way you get these things approved,' and brokers coach clients to use language about being 'persecuted' by political enemies.

Covino said he agreed to wear the hidden camera because he wanted to expose unfairness in the system. But he also admitted that the new reality may be impossible to avoid. 'I don't like the fact that you have to pay such a huge amount of money because of who you know,' he said. 'But if that's how the game's played, then that's how the game's played.' The CBS News investigation raises important questions about whether America's pardon system is still fair for everyone — or mainly for those who can afford it.