Pardon brokers offer to "put pressure on the president" — at sky-high costs
Hidden cameras captured lobbyists as they tried to woo a potential client interested in obtaining a pardon from President Trump.
In August, Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl, lobbyists and right-wing provocateurs, approached Ammon Covino and his wife at a Ritz-Carlton hotel in Virginia. They were pitching a lucrative new industry of pardon brokers catering to those seeking pardons from President Trump. Covino, an aquarium operator, had previously served time for illegally transporting a shark and a stingray.
Burkman and Wohl offered Covino a way to secure a pardon for $300,000, promising early delivery by October. However, Covino was not a real client; CBS News was investigating the world of pardon brokers. Currently, the pardon economy is unprecedented, with many brokers and influencers operating in the shadows to access the president. Fees can reach up to $3 million for access to the White House.
Written by urgent.news from CBS News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
