The Bombshell Inside Trump’s $1.3 Billion Pardon Market
The Pardon for Pay President
In December 2020, federal prosecutors unsealed evidence of a presidential pardon bribery scheme during Trump’s first term. Court documents revealed a “bribery conspiracy” involving “substantial political contribution in exchange for a presidential pardon.” No charges were filed. Four years later, Trump returned to office and issued clemency to more than 1,600 individuals in his first 10 months. For context, Obama issued 1,927 grants over eight years. Biden issued fewer than 200 over four years. Trump’s first term produced 237 over four years. Trump’s current pace exceeds all modern presidents combined. These pardons have eliminated $1.3 billion in court-ordered restitution and fines owed to crime victims. Documented payments to Trump, his family businesses, and his allies preceded many of them.
Trevor Milton founded Nikola, an electric truck company. In October 2022, a jury convicted him of securities fraud after prosecutors proved he deceived investors with a viral video showing a prototype truck appearing to drive under its own power. The truck was actually rolling downhill after being towed to the top. The jury deliberated for hours after a two-month trial. Federal prosecutors sought $695.2 million in restitution from Milton, including $680 million to Nikola shareholders and $15.2 million to wire fraud victim Peter Hicks. Many investors lost retirement savings during the COVID-19 pandemic and waited for repayment.
In October 2024, Milton and his wife donated more than $1.8 million to Trump’s reelection campaign. Milton personally contributed $920,000 to the Trump 47 Committee and $284,000 to the RNC. The combined total represented one of the largest individual contributions to Trump that cycle.
Five months later, on March 27, 2025, Trump personally called Milton to inform him of his pardon. Trump granted it the next day. The pardon eliminated both Milton’s four-year prison sentence and the $695.2 million restitution obligation. Investors will never be repaid.
The return on Milton’s “investment” to Trump was 37,400 percent.
This is the America that republicans are desperate to make permanent.
Trump stated at a press conference that Milton’s only crime was supporting “a gentleman named Donald Trump for president.” The timing established a price. Donation in October. Pardon in March. The transaction was complete.
Paul Walczak ran nursing homes in Florida. Between 2013 and 2016, he withheld approximately $7.4 million from employees’ paychecks that should have gone to federal tax payments. He also failed to pay $3.5 million in employer tax obligations. The total tax loss to the federal government exceeded $10 million. Walczak used the stolen funds to purchase a yacht and finance a lavish lifestyle. Low-wage healthcare workers whose taxes were stolen faced IRS penalties and credit damage. A federal judge sentenced Walczak to 18 months in prison and ordered him to pay $4.4 million in restitution.
His mother is Elizabeth Fago, a major Republican fundraiser. In early April 2025, Fago attended a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser where tickets cost $1 million per person.
Twelve days after Walczak’s sentencing, on April 23, Trump pardoned him before he served a single day. The pardon eliminated the restitution. Those healthcare workers will never be repaid.
House Judiciary Committee Democrats calculated that the $1 million Fago paid for Mar-a-Lago access was “exceptionally well-invested.”
Changpeng Zhao founded Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. In November 2023, he pleaded guilty to money laundering violations. Federal prosecutors proved Binance allowed criminals to use the platform, including terrorists from Hamas, drug traffickers, and child sex abusers. Binance paid a $4.3 billion settlement. Zhao served four months in prison and paid a $50 million fine.
During Trump’s 2024 campaign, Binance became the infrastructure provider for World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture owned by Trump’s family that generated $57 million for him that year. Binance wrote the code for Trump’s family stablecoin, establishing a direct business relationship between Zhao’s company and Trump’s financial interests while Trump was running for president. After Trump won the election, Binance paid $450,000 per month to lobbying firms seeking Zhao’s pardon while an Abu Dhabi state-backed firm agreed to invest $2 billion using Trump’s stablecoin in a deal facilitated by Binance.
On October 23, 2025, Trump pardoned Zhao. When Scott Pelley asked Trump about Zhao on 60 Minutes, Trump claimed: “I don’t know who he is. I don’t think I ever met him.”
The pardon removed the criminal conviction from a man whose company was paying Trump’s family and lobbying for his release simultaneously.
P. Scott Jenkins served as sheriff of Culpeper County, Virginia, for more than a decade. In December 2024, a jury convicted him on 12 counts including conspiracy, honest services fraud, and bribery. Prosecutors proved Jenkins accepted more than $75,000 in bribes to appoint Northern Virginia businessmen as auxiliary deputy sheriffs. He sold law enforcement badges and credentials to wealthy men who had no law enforcement training, underwent no background checks, and provided no services to the county. Three of the men involved, including two undercover FBI agents, had already pleaded guilty before Jenkins went to trial. Prosecutors also presented evidence that Jenkins pressured local officials to restore gun rights to a convicted felon who had paid him bribes.
A federal judge sentenced Jenkins to 10 years in prison in March 2025. Prosecutors stated Jenkins “repeatedly violated the public’s trust by exploiting his official powers for personal gain” and that after being caught, he “sought to manipulate the judicial process and to evade responsibility for his crimes by lying to the Court and the jury.”
Jenkins was scheduled to report to federal prison on May 27, 2025. On May 26, the day before, Trump pardoned him.
Ed Martin, Trump’s pardon attorney, posted on social media: “No MAGA left behind.”
The phrase made the selection criteria explicit. Political loyalty determines who receives a pardon. Criminals everywhere now have an incentive program to do the bidding of MAGA.
Officer Michael Fanone served 20 years with the DC Metropolitan Police. On January 6, 2021, rioters dragged him into the mob outside the Capitol. They beat him unconscious, tased him repeatedly at the base of his skull, and caused a heart attack. He sustained a traumatic brain injury and PTSD severe enough to force his retirement.
Daniel Rodriguez pleaded guilty to driving a stun gun into Fanone’s neck multiple times. A federal judge sentenced Rodriguez to 12 years in prison.
Trump pardoned Rodriguez along with more than 1,500 other January 6 participants. Fanone is now filing protective orders against Rodriguez and other attackers who walked free.
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“Six individuals who assaulted me as I did my job on January 6 will now walk free,” Fanone stated. “My family, my children and myself are less safe today because of Donald Trump and his supporters.”
The evidence of a pardon bribery scheme extends beyond individual cases. On December 1, 2020, Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell unsealed court documents revealing that federal prosecutors had seized over 50 digital devices during Trump’s first term. The devices contained evidence of what prosecutors described as a “bribery conspiracy” involving “substantial political contribution in exchange for a presidential pardon.” The investigation focused on two individuals who acted as unregistered lobbyists to senior White House officials. Court documents showed individuals sought clemency “because of past and future political contributions.”
Judge Howell ordered the Justice Department to act or provide more details by November 2020. All names in the court filing were redacted. A DOJ official stated: “No government official was or is currently a subject or target of the investigation disclosed in this filing.”
No charges have ever been publicly filed. The investigation appears to have been closed despite extensive documented evidence of a bribery scheme.
A January 2021 New York Times investigation provides additional documentation of the pardon market. Reporters interviewed over 36 lobbyists and lawyers who described a systematic operation where Trump allies collected “tens of thousands to millions of dollars” to lobby for pardons. The prices were known. The access was for sale.
Fred Daibes provides the clearest documentation. A jury convicted Daibes of bribing Senator Bob Menendez with gold bars. Daibes paid $1 million to Javelin Advisors, a lobbying firm led by Keith Schiller. Schiller served as Trump’s director of Oval Office operations and worked as Trump Organization security director for 18 years. The $1 million bought access to Trump for pardon lobbying.
NBC News reported that multiple people had knowledge of $5 million offers to lobbying firms to get cases directly to Trump.
Margaret Love served as U.S. Pardon Attorney under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. She told the Times: “This kind of off-books influence peddling, special-privilege system denies consideration to the hundreds of ordinary people who have obediently lined up as required by Justice Department rules, and is a basic violation of the longstanding effort to make this process at least look fair.”
The Supreme Court removed the final barrier to pardon bribery in 2024. The Court’s decision in Trump v. United States established broad presidential immunity for “official acts.”
The ruling did something more severe than protect presidents from prosecution. It prevents prosecutors from investigating whether an act qualifies as official in the first place. Evidence of potential crimes committed through presidential powers cannot be examined to determine if immunity applies. The investigation stops before it can begin.
Justice Sotomayor wrote in dissent: “Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune.”
Even if prosecutors obtained evidence that Trump accepted payment for a pardon, they cannot investigate whether the pardon was an official act or a bribe. The Court’s ruling makes the question legally unanswerable.
The situation isn’t complicated, just nakedly corrupt. Trump has issued clemency to more than 1,600 individuals in 10 months. The majority were participants in the January 6 armed attack on the Capitol that he incited. The rest involved documented payments to Trump, his family businesses, or his political allies that preceded many of the pardons.
Federal prosecutors found evidence of a bribery scheme during his first term. No charges were filed. Perhaps this is because charging Trump would open the can of worms that pardons have been used in ethically ambiguous ways since this nation was founded. Holding Trump accountable could mean the horrible outcome where all politicians and judges are held accountable. Of course, the Supreme Court stepped in to prevent that from ever accidentally unfolding when they ruled that such acts are immune from prosecution and cannot even be investigated.
Laws don’t arrest people, people arrest people. Federal prosecutors documented bribery and closed the case. The Supreme Court made investigating presidential crimes unlawful. Federal accountability has failed completely. We can watch Republicans create a lawless environment where they act with corrupt impunity, or states can act. States must arrest corrupt federal officials and build independent justice systems. Learn how in the Introduction to Soft Secession, available now at TheExistentialistRepublic.com
References
Cevallos, D. (2025, October 22). New Jersey businessman paid $1M to a lobbying firm to try to get a pardon from Trump. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/new-jersey-businessman-paid-1m-lobbying-firm-try-get-pardon-trump-rcna239278
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. (2025, June 2). Trump has granted clemency to 17 corrupt politicians—so far. https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/trump-has-granted-clemency-to-16-corrupt-politicians-so-far/
Deese, K. (2025, May 26). Trump pardons Scott Jenkins, former Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery. Washington Examiner. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/3422289/trump-pardon-scott-jenkins-virginia-sheriff-bribery-conviction/
Dienst, J., Copenhagen, C., & Alba, M. (2025, October 22). Fred Daibes hired lobbying firm with ties to President Trump. NBC New York. https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/fred-daibes-hired-lobbying-firm-clemency-trump/6408580/
Garrett, B. (2025, July 28). Trump pardons show there’s never been a better time to be a white collar crook. The Marshall Project. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/07/28/trump-pardons-violate-standards
Gregorian, D., Reiss, A., & Dienst, J. (2025, January 29). Former Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 years in prison in gold bar bribery case. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/former-sen-bob-menendez-sentenced-gold-bar-bribery-case-rcna189044
Haberman, M., & Protess, B. (2020, December 1). Justice Department investigating potential presidential pardon bribery scheme. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/01/politics/presidential-pardon-justice-department/index.html
House Judiciary Committee Democrats. (2025, June). Trump’s 2025 pardons: Costs to victims and the public [Report]. U.S. House of Representatives.
Kovarsky, L. (2025, July 28). How Trump is flouting government rules on pardons to help allies. The Marshall Project. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/07/28/trump-pardons-violate-standards
Lynch, B. (2025, March 31). Trump pardons show there’s never been a better time to be a white collar crook. Axios. https://www.axios.com/2025/03/31/trump-pardons-bitmex-crypto-fraud
National Public Radio. (2020, December 1). Justice Department investigating possible bribery-for-pardon scheme. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2020/12/01/940960089/justice-department-investigating-possible-bribery-for-pardon-scheme
Office of the Pardon Attorney. (2025). Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-Present). U.S. Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present
Primack, D. (2025, March 31). Trump pardons show there’s never been a better time to be a white collar crook. Axios. https://www.axios.com/2025/03/31/trump-pardons-bitmex-crypto-fraud
Raskin, J. (2025, June). Analysis of Trump administration clemency actions and victim restitution [Memorandum]. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
Relman, E. (2025, January 24). Trump pardons two D.C. police officers found guilty in murder and its cover-up. MSNBC. https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/trump-pardon-dc-police-murder-cover-up-rcna189142
Rosenberg, E., & Shear, M. D. (2021, January 18). A pardon for sale? The inside story of Trump’s clemency scramble. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/17/us/politics/trump-pardons-final-days.html
Schwartz, R. (2025, October 16). A running list of all the celebrities Trump has pardoned. The Week. https://www.theweek.com/politics/trump-pardon-celebrity-reality-tv-hip-hop
Segraves, M. (2025, January 23). Trump pardons D.C. officers convicted in death and cover up. NBC Washington. https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/trump-pardons-dc-police-officer/3822773/
Shear, M. D. (2025, March 25). Trump pardons former Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/devon-archer-pardon-hunter-biden/
Trump v. United States, 603 U.S. ___ (2024).
United States v. Howell, No. 20-mc-00188 (D.D.C. Aug. 28, 2020) (order unsealed Dec. 1, 2020).
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York. (2025, January 29). Former U.S. Senator Robert Menendez sentenced to 11 years in prison [Press release]. U.S. Department of Justice.
Warren, E. (2025, October 24). Statement on pardon of Changpeng Zhao [Press release]. Office of Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Wikipedia. (2025, November 9). List of people granted executive clemency in the second Trump presidency. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executive_clemency_in_the_second_Trump_presidency
White House. (2025, January 20). Granting pardons and commutation of sentences for certain offenses relating to the events at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 [Proclamation]. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/granting-pardons-and-commutation-of-sentences-for-certain-offenses-relating-to-the-events-at-or-near-the-united-states-capitol-on-january-6-2021/
No surprise! Trump will do anything for money we have seen this over and over again. He is obsessed with money and does not care how he gets it. He has taken illegal actions and violated the law in his first term and has gone absolutely wild in his second. His motto is pay me and get what you want. I can’t imagine what we will learn when and if he finally leaves office. He is the most egotistical, self-centered, ignorant, political individual ever and with the supreme court and the republicans continuing to allow him to get away with it all I worry everyday about the our country and our citizens.
This is incredibly interesting and disgustingly corrupt
The article reads that Scott Pelley did the 60 minutes interview however it was Norah O’Donnell that did the interview.
Well written and very informative. The corruption must be addressed if Democracy ever gets restored.