Department of Justice investigates Trump’s bribery-for-pardon scheme

Recently unsealed court records indicate the Department of Justice is investigating President Donald Trump of funneling money in exchange for presidential pardons. The court records were released today in federal court indicating that President Trump was funneling money to a related political committee or the White House by selling presidential pardons, one of the biggest abuse of power in American presidential history.

This investigation stems from several court cases investigating top advisors and other members of the Trump administration that face federal criminal charges. The court case claims Trump rewarded loyalty with presidential pardons and abusing his presidential power for profit.

NEW: The DOJ has spent months investigating a “bribery-for-pardon scheme,” even as President Donald Trump was running for reelection, according to court documents. https://t.co/J3Y3IGDjmD

— HuffPost (@HuffPost) December 1, 2020

The court records indicate Chief Judge Beryl Howell in August reviewed a request from prosecutors to access documents obtained during a search for a bribery-for-pardon investigation. The filing doesn’t indicate the timeline of the bribery-for-pardon scheme or any of the people involved, no one appears to have been charged with any relating crimes.

The filing revealed communications including between people and at least one lawyer from a seized office after being raided at the end of the summer. The Justice Department maintains that “no government official was or is currently a subject or target of the investigation disclosed in this filing.”

Previous reports indicate that Trump’s associates are making appeals in hope of being pardoned before leaving office and the White House has declined to respond to court filings. According to the unsealed filing, none of the associates are being investigated by the Justice Department.

Prosecutors requested access to evidence designated for the filter team that they believe can hold the evidence of the bribery-for-pardon scheme. The prosecutors’ filter team ensures that prosecutors don’t have access to privileged and possibly tainted evidence with more than 50 digital devices including computer drives, iPhones, iPads, thumb drives, and laptops from unidentified offices.

The 20-page unsealed document was redacted and the prosecutors believe the bribery conspiracy provided “a substantial political contribution in exchange for a presidential pardon or reprieve of sentence” to a convicted defendant with the name redacted.

The case indicates that unnamed people acted as unregistered “lobbyists to senior White House officials” that would seek out to secure a presidential pardon and used an intermediary to pay the bribe. Chief Judge Howell is allowing access communications between clients and attorneys for prosecutors that is typically privileged to keep from prosecutors while building their case.

Attorney General William Barr told The AP that the Justice Department and FBI did not find evidence of widespread voter fraud that would change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. https://t.co/OkAnFplgnE

— Twitter Moments (@TwitterMoments) December 1, 2020

Under the law, attorney-client communications are not protected as privileged while discussing crime as one exception. The prosecutors have yet to provide the judge with any evidence of any direct payment but provided evidence indicating that a person sought clemency due to past and future political contribution.

During his presidential term, Trump has commuted 16 people’s sentences and granted 29 presidential pardons including former political figures. President Trump pardoned Republican political adviser Roger Stone after lying to Congress to protect Trump in 2016 and former national security adviser Michael Flynn after lying to the FBI as well as undisclosed lobbying for Turkey.