Pardon brokers offer to “put pressure on the president” — at sky-high costs
A Growing Market for Presidential Clemency
Wertynews.com – At a luxury hotel bar in Tysons Corner, Virginia, an unusual sales meeting offered a glimpse into the increasingly expensive business surrounding presidential pardons. Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl, lobbyists known for right-wing political provocation, met in mid-August with Ammon Covino and his wife, Crystal, to discuss a possible clemency campaign.
Covino had served nearly two years in federal prison after being convicted of illegally moving a shark and a stingray across state lines. He had previously mailed a pardon application to the Justice Department during the Biden administration. The request was rejected in July by President Trump, among thousands of clemency requests denied as the administration worked through a backlog.
Burkman and Wohl presented themselves as guides to a different route—one driven less by the traditional Justice Department review system and more by political connections, public pressure and access to people around the president.
“With this particular White House, you have to put pressure on the president from all directions in a consistent way to force his hand,” Burkman said.
They told Covino that a $300,000 payment could result in a pardon as soon as October. But Covino was not actually seeking their services. He was participating in a hidden-camera examination of pardon brokers and the ways they market influence to people seeking relief from federal convictions.
From Formal Review to Political Access
Presidential clemency has always carried political and legal controversy. The traditional image of a pardon recipient is someone who has completed a sentence, demonstrated rehabilitation and sought mercy after accepting responsibility. In practice, presidents have often made clemency decisions that reach beyond that model.
President Gerald Ford granted a pardon to Richard Nixon after the Watergate scandal. President Jimmy Carter pardoned many people who had avoided military service during the Vietnam War. On his final day in office, President Bill Clinton pardoned Marc Rich, a fugitive financier whose wife, Denise Rich, had been a major donor to Clinton’s presidential library.
President Biden also faced criticism in December 2024 for late pardons involving allies, donors and relatives. Those actions included a pardon for his son Hunter Biden, who had been convicted on firearms charges and pleaded guilty to tax evasion in another case. Biden also issued a preemptive pardon for Anthony Fauci.
What has drawn particular attention during Trump’s second term is the scale of the private market that has formed around securing access to clemency decisions. Lawyers, former prosecutors and others familiar with federal pardons describe a Washington environment in which politically connected intermediaries seek clients by promising routes into the president’s orbit.
The Justice Department has historically played a central role in reviewing applications. More than two dozen department lawyers considered factors such as remorse, rehabilitation and the circumstances of each case before making recommendations. That system has become far less central in recent months.
Roughly 70% of Trump’s second-term clemency actions did not go through the Justice Department review process. When Jan. 6-related cases are included, the share rises to 92%.
The Value of a Connection
Trump opened his second term with a sweeping clemency decision on his first day in office, granting pardons, commutations or dropped prosecutions to more than 1,500 people charged or convicted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Since then, dozens of white-collar defendants—often people with considerable wealth or influential networks—have received clemency.
For brokers, that shift has created a business opportunity. Their services can involve arranging outreach through White House contacts, deploying figures with influence in MAGA political circles, or working with associates who are seen as close to the president. The underlying product is not merely legal advice. It is the prospect of proximity and attention in a process that remains entirely within presidential discretion.
“It’s more energy and less process,” Burkman said. “...And contacts.”
People familiar with the market say fees can rise as high as $3 million. The amounts illustrate a sharp divide between applicants who can afford high-priced political advocates and those who must rely on the ordinary Justice Department channel, pro bono assistance or their own efforts.
Mark Osler, a University of St. Thomas law professor in Minnesota, runs a pro bono clinic for people convicted of federal offenses who want help applying for clemency. He has raised concerns that applicants increasingly believe they need personal access to power rather than a fair review of their circumstances.
“There’s an industry that’s built up around helping people get access to this system that should be free, that should be available to everybody,” Osler said.
Why the Pardon Economy Matters
A pardon can remove or reduce the consequences of a federal conviction, restore certain rights and reshape a person’s future. Because the president’s authority is broad, the process has always depended partly on judgment, politics and personal priorities. The expansion of paid intermediaries adds another layer: the ability to spend large sums in pursuit of influence.
That does not mean every broker can deliver what is promised. A presidential pardon cannot be guaranteed, and no consultant or lobbyist controls the final decision. Yet the pitches themselves demonstrate how valuable access has become in a clemency system where standard procedures are often bypassed.
For applicants, the central question is whether money and connections are becoming more important than the conventional evidence of rehabilitation, remorse and public interest. For the public, the issue is larger than any individual case. It is whether a constitutional power meant to provide mercy can remain credible when private brokers market presidential access at extraordinary prices.
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