The Corruption of the Pardon Power Is An Urgent Threat to Our Democracy

60 Minutes last night highlighted the case of crypto billionaires Changpeng Zhao and, in Overtime, the broader demise of the pardon process. Please watch and share.

If you follow my work, you know I have been sounding the alarm about the corruption of the pardon power since I was fired from my job as Pardon Attorney in March. The issue has reached crisis level, as we continue to see clemency doled out to those who do not meet any of the traditional criteria for this extraordinary form of executive relief. Merit no longer appears to be relevant to the analysis — what matters is politics, personal connections, and money.

How is the president’s use of pardons damaging our democracy? Well, the Founders gave the president the pardon power as a tool for mercy; instead, our current president is using it to enrich himself and his allies at great expense to the welfare of our nation. Here are a few top line issues that I’ll be diving into in future posts.

1. Trump has pardoned more corrupt elected officials than any other president. By far. Crimes involving the abuse of public trust were once considered among the most serious. But through pardons, Trump is normalizing public corruption and paving the way for his own.

2. Trump is granting pardons without vetting the recipients. The current administration has abandoned the rigorous vetting of pardon candidates that has been a longstanding feature of the pardon process administered by the Justice Department. This is incredibly dangerous — as evidenced by the fact that many of Trump’s pardon recipients have already been returned to prison for committing new crimes.

3. Trump’s pardons are undercutting the work of his own Justice Department. Remarkably, Trump’s clemency grants have routinely unraveled sentences sought by his own Justice Department. For example, one of Trump’s most recent pardons went to Joseph Schwartz, convicted of a $38 million tax fraud scheme. Schwartz’s 36-month prison sentence — wiped out by the pardon — was announced in April by Trump’s handpicked U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, Alina Habba.

4. Trump has discarded the longstanding criteria for granting clemency. These standards, outlined in detail in the Justice Manual, are intended to ensure that the pardon power is used for the public good. Few if any of Trump’s clemency recipients to date meet these criteria (or even come close). The wholesale discarding of these principles by the current president is effectively undermining the legitimacy of our criminal justice system.

5. Trump has created a pay-for-play pardon system. Pardons have routinely been granted on the basis of financial contributions or political donations to Trump causes. For example, Paul Walczak, a corrupt nursing home executive, received a full pardon days after his mother paid one million dollars to dine with the President at Mar-a-lago. Trevor Milton, a prolific fraudster, received a full pardon after donating $1.8 million to Trump’s campaign. The effect has been to foster a booming pardon industry, from which many in Trump’s orbit are profiting handsomely.

6. Trump’s pardons have erased enormous amounts of restitution and fines owed to crime victims and taxpayers. As outlined in my pardon trackers, the total to date is well over one billion dollars in debts forgiven by grants of clemency. Trevor Milton alone was relieved of a restitution obligation that would have required him to repay over $600 million to the investors he defrauded.

7. Trump’s pardons consistently place his personal interests above the interests of the American people. The pardon of Changpeng Zhao is a perfect example. The Trump family benefitted enormously from their business relationship with Zhao (who brokered a $2 billion investment in the Trump family crypto business). But the American people do not benefit in any way, shape or form from Zhao’s pardon. Zhao endangered U.S. national security by allowing his crypto platform to be used to facilitate criminal activity, including funneling money to terrorist groups like ISIS, Al Qaeda, and Hamas. By pardoning him, Trump is licensing depraved and dangerous conduct, at untold expense to the safety and security of the American people.

8. Trump’s pardons encourage his supporters to commit crimes in Trump’s name, including undermining democratic safeguards. On Day 1 of his presidency, with the sweeping January 6 pardons, Trump sent a loud and clear message to his supporters that crimes committed in his name will forgiven. Trump’s Pardon Attorney, Ed Martin, has openly declared that his own approach to clemency is: “No MAGA left behind.” Martin has backed pardons for all manner of MAGA-linked crimes, including the sweeping purported pardon of all those involved in overturning the 2020 election results. By consistently rewarding MAGA supporters with clemency, Trump is licensing them to commit all manner of crimes that threaten our democratic safeguards — from political violence to election interference — in his name.

9. The corruption of the pardon power leaves no path forward for ordinary Americans. Many thousands of Americans are seeking the type of mercy clemency was intended to provide — relief from outdated prison sentences or fresh starts through pardons that have been earned based on good conduct, sincere effort, and pure merit. At last count, about 15,000 clemency applications were languishing at the Office of the Pardon Attorney; that number, which has not been updated in months, is likely significantly larger now. These ordinary Americans — who lack the political connections or financial resources to navigate the current pardon market — have no shot at receiving the consideration they deserve.

I am sharing below two segments from 60 Minutes that dive into (1) the Zhao case, and (2) the demise of the pardon process across the board under Trump. As those familiar with my work as Pardon Attorney know, this is a topic near and dear to my heart. I hope you will take the time to watch and share.

The Pardon of Changpeng Zhao (as aired by CBS, 60 Minutes, Nov. 16, 2025):

The demise of the pardon process under Trump (as aired by 60 Minutes Overtime, Nov. 16, 2025):

Thank you for reading and watching. I am so grateful for your time. If you’d like to support my continuing efforts to promote accountability and transparency around presidential pardons, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Thank you for your support!