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White House Denies Influence by 'Pardon Brokers' After '60 Minutes' Investigation
Confirmed
In Short: The White House denied suggestions that President Trump's administration could be influenced by pardon brokers, as '60 Minutes' investigated the growing market for presidential pardons.
In a segment on '60 Minutes,' the CBS news program highlighted the emerging market for presidential pardons, where lobbyists and brokers allegedly negotiate for pardons in exchange for hefty fees from convicted felons.
White House spokespersons denied the claims, stating that the administration has a robust pardon review process involving the White House counsel, the Department of Justice, and the President himself.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, criticized the pardons issued by former President Joe Biden, particularly those for violent criminals.
The House Judiciary Committee is expected to prioritize clemency oversight if Democrats gain a majority in the lower chamber in the 2026 midterm elections, following a CBS News investigation that exposed the pardon-broker industry.
What's confirmed
- "Anyone spending money to lobby for pardons is foolishly wasting their money and the President doesn’t even know who these so-called ‘lobbyists’ are. The Trump Administration has a robust pardon review process which includes White House counsel, the Department of Justice, pardon czar Alice Johnson, and ultimately, the President himself as the final decider," Bis said.
What's still developing
- "Presidents have been pardoning criminals since George Washington," correspondent Lesley Stahl said.
- "President Trump, he's developed his own vetting system, pardoning political allies, including all of the January 6 rioters, as well as a string of unrepentant financial conmen who argued, just like him, that they were wrongly prosecuted," she continued.
- ‘PRIVILEGED’ HUNTER BIDEN, SPARED BY DAD’S PARDON, BLASTS TRUMP’S CLEMENCY POWER "We would not compromise our principles or reputations by jamming unverifiable notions or White House talking points into our reporting," Campanile wrote.
- During the show's season premiere, the long-running news program ran a segment on lobbyists reportedly negotiating for presidential pardons for particular clients based on alleged connections to the president.
- Donations appear to help and those who can pay hire pardon brokers, lawyers and lobbyists who sell their ties to the president for exorbitant fees.
- "The only pardons anyone should be critical of are from President Biden, who pardoned and commuted sentences of violent criminals including child killers and mass murderers, and extreme liberal Democrat Governors who pardoned illegal alien child rapists and attempted murderers in attempts to allow them to remain in our country," she added.
- September 14, 2026 / 8:45 PM EDT / CBS News 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.
- 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.