Senate and House Democrats have launched an investigation into whether pardons and commutations issued by President Trump were driven by "pay-to-play dynamics," according to letters obtained by CBS News.
Among the pardons being probed by lawmakers are those granted to cryptocurrency billionaire Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty to money laundering; nursing home operator Joseph Schwartz, who was convicted of tax crimes; and entrepreneur Trevor Milton, sentenced to four years in prison in 2023 after being convicted of lying to investors.
On Thursday, California congressmen Dave Min and Raul Ruiz, as well as Vermont senator Peter Welch sent letters to more than a dozen recipients of executive clemency — seeking to unearth how they may have received favorable treatment from Mr. Trump or his advisers "through intermediaries, financial contributions, or other forms of influence."
The Democrats are also examining the impact of pardons and commutations on thousands of financial victims. The lettersnote that Mr. Trump's acts of clemency are "depriving victims of compensation and justice," citing the president's elimination ofhundreds of millionsof dollars in restitution — money owed to crime victims — and fines.
Clemency has come under scrutiny during Mr. Trump's second term with his pardons or commutations of the sentences of a number of allies who faced prosecution —as well as those who hiredpeople close to him. In the letters, the Democrats argued the president has appeared to reward his allies in a manner that departs from the Supreme Court's description of executive clemency "as 'an act of grace' exercised for the 'public welfare.'"
The lawmakers asked for any contracts showing how much money has been paid by the clemency recipients to lawyers, lobbyists, social media influencers and others who advocated on their behalf to Mr. Trump.
They also requested communications between the recipients or people acting on their behalf with federal officials, records showing any donations to Mr. Trump or groups affiliated with him and other documents related to clemency efforts.
"If they don't respond, they run the risk of highlighting themselves — of being the subjects of future congressional investigations and creating more of a target on their backs for potential further criminal prosecutions," Min told CBS News, adding that the idea that people can "get around the justice system" after being convicted "gets to the heart of what is wrong with America right now under this administration."
Because Democrats are in the minority in both the House and the Senate, they lack subpoena power and can only request cooperation from the pardon recipients. But this unusual pipeline for clemency will likely be a top oversight area for Democrats should they take back majorities in either chamber of Congress in the midterm elections this year. That would give them the authority to compel documents on clemency and other areas of oversight.
Perhaps the most high-profile clemency act that the lawmakers are investigating is Mr. Trump'spardon last yearof Zhao, the founder of crypto exchange Binance. Federal disclosures show that the clemency push was led by Ches McDowell, a lawyer and lobbyist who is a friend of Donald Trump Jr., as well as Teresa Goody Guillén, a lawyer who has represented Zach Witkoff, the son of Mr. Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Source: Drudge Report
