Lawyers Are Quoting $1 Million Fees to Get Pardons to Trump (1)

Trevor Milton was at home in mid-March when his phone lit up. The caller ID indicated the “Executive Office of the President of the United States” was on the line.

“I thought it was fake,” said Milton, the founder of the electric-truck maker Nikola Corp., who was convicted of fraud in 2022 after the now bankrupt company made an infamous video of a prototype vehicle seeming to move on its own power, when in fact it was just rolling down a hill. “This has to be one of those people that hate me.”

But about two months earlier, Milton had joined a throng of white-collar defendants keen to take advantage of the Trump administration’s apparent enthusiasm for upending prosecutions and cutting prison sentences. In Milton’s official pardon pitch, he laid out the issues he believed plagued his trial: a juror who wanted to abolish the billionaire class, prosecutors trying him in New York for conduct that occurred in Arizona and Utah and a judge wrongly instructing a jury.

Milton cast himself as a victim of the same prosecutors who had previously investigated the president’s allies. The 43-year-old also donated almost $1.7 million to support Trump’s 2024 campaign. He made modest donations to Republicans in several previous years, with none larger than $10,000 and not to Democratic candidates, federal filings show. Milton also had two lawyers well-known in conservative circles in his corner.

All the effort appeared to pay off when, after 30 seconds on hold, President Donald Trump got on the line and told Milton that he was going to grant him a full pardon. In a follow-up call a week later, Trump confirmed the deed was officially done.

Trevor Milton exits court in New York in December 2023.

Photographer: Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg

“He said ‘It’s signed. You’re cleaner than a baby’s bottom, you’re cleaner than I am, Trevor,’” Milton recalled.

Milton had pleaded not guilty to fraud and maintains his innocence.

Read more: Nikola Founder Exaggerated the Capability of His Debut Truck

The president “is effectively and responsibly using his constitutional authority,” White House spokesman Harrison Fields said. “Over the past four years, we have witnessed the weaponization of the justice system against the president’s allies. The president is committed to righting those wrongs and ending lawfare.”

The Justice Department is “committed to timely and carefully reviewing” all clemency applications and making unbiased, consistent recommendations to the president, a spokeswoman said in a statement.

President Joe Biden set a record for granting clemency during his term, and was broadly criticized by Republicans and some Democrats for protecting his family members and allies. Trump has already shown a willingness to use the clemency power more regularly, with a soft spot for displays of loyalty and gripes about prosecutorial overreach. In his second term, the president has overseen a breakdown in the traditional vetting process for deciding who gets relief and supercharged a pardon economy unlike anything seen before.

Powerful people in business and finance are rushing pitches and stepping up lobbying, catering their appeals to Trump and hiring lawyers with connections to the administration. These defendants with means are spending big for a chance to clear their names, at least in official records if not in public perception. Interviews with about two dozen lawyers and pardon hopefuls, many of whom asked not to be identified discussing plans that weren’t public, have pulled back the curtain on the clemency process under Trump. Some outlined plans to spend at least tens of thousands of dollars on attorneys, lobbyists and consultants, while others say the costs will reach well north of $1 million to put cases together and get them in front of the White House.

US President Donald Trump signs an executive order during an event in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 1.

Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

“There’s a huge level of interest,” said Margaret Love, who served as the US pardon attorney in the 1990s and now specializes in clemency in private practice. “People think Trump is going to do something for them.”

Presidents from both parties have long used their authority to circumvent official process and dole out pardons to friends and supporters. The constitution puts almost no limits on the practice, though leaders typically wait until the end of their tenure to award clemency. Trump has announced clemency grants on a dozen occasions since he took office three months ago.

Biden came in for heavy criticism for pardoning his son, his siblings and political allies during his final hours in office. President Barack Obama commuted the sentence of Chelsea Manning, a former Army private who leaked information to Wikileaks.

George W. Bush commuted the sentence of Scooter Libby, an aide to then Vice President Dick Cheney. Bill Clinton pardoned his brother and most notoriously the financier Marc Rich after being lobbied by his ex-wife, a major Democratic donor.

Since taking office Jan. 20, Trump has granted pardons or commutations to about 1,600 people, more than six times the total for his entire first term, but well behind Biden’s 4,245 over four years. The vast bulk of Trump’s second-term grants of clemency have been for people charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. The remaining include wealthy white-collar criminals, anti-abortion activists, cryptocurrency entrepreneurs and two ex-associates of Hunter Biden who turned on the former president’s son.

Demonstrators attempt to breach the US Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021.

Photographer: Victor J. Blue /Bloomberg

Just last month, Trump pardoned former health-care executive Paul Walczak, whose family has close ties to the Trump camp. Walczak’s mother is Elizabeth Fago, a major Palm Beach Republican donor. Dennis Kainen, an attorney for Walczak, said the legal team was grateful and believed the “president’s decision was sage in light of all the underlying circumstances.”

“It seems like ordinary people who don’t have the resources to hire a lobbyist or well-connected lawyer and don’t have political connections and access to the White House front door are not being considered for clemency at all,” said Liz Oyer, who was the Justice Department’s top pardon attorney for three years. She said she was fired in March after refusing to recommend that Hollywood actor and Trump ally Mel Gibson have his gun rights restored despite a 2011 domestic violence conviction. Gibson’s gun rights were restored in April.

Fields, the White House spokesman, said Trump would work with the administration’s pardon czar, Alice Marie Johnson, to “continue to provide justice and redemption to countless deserving Americans.”

Johnson, who was pardoned by Trump during his first term for a non-violent drug offense, said in an interview Wednesday that the president is “very laser focused” on clemency, including for cases that he thinks involve political bias.

“The president himself was politically targeted, and one thing he wants to do is to right these wrongs,” she said.

The president’s rhetoric around ending abuses of prosecutorial power has provided pardon hopefuls with a template for their requests.

The family of Sam Bankman-Fried, the FTX co-founder sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding customers in his cryptocurrency exchange, are among those exploring a clemency bid under Trump. As his parents, Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried, canvassed lawyers purportedly tied to the president’s inner circle earlier this year, one attorney estimated the costs associated with pursuing their son’s case would exceed $1 million, according to people familiar with the conversation.

Bankman-Fried and Trump have found common ground in their criticism of the judge who presided over the FTX founder’s trial and also oversaw the defamation case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll against Trump that resulted in an $83 million judgment.

Sam Bankman-Fried departs court in New York in February 2023.

Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg

Bankman-Fried, 33, used a recent interview from prison with the conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson — a favorite of the president’s — to talk up his Republican bona fides and criticize Biden, even though he was a Democrat megadonor before his arrest.

Joe Bankman referred a request for comment to the lawyer he and his wife eventually hired, Kory Langhofer, an Arizona attorney who worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign. “It’s time for a calmer discussion about what really happened at FTX,” Langhofer said in an interview. “There are significant misunderstandings about the facts.”

Crypto booster Roger Ver, who is fighting extradition from Spain after being charged with tax evasion in the US last year, orchestrated a social media campaign calling for his exoneration and released a documentary chronicling his fight with US authorities. The film was promoted on X, including by conservative radio host Alex Jones.

Ver explored pressing his case with the president through Alex Spiro, an attorney who is well known for representing Elon Musk, according to people familiar with the matter. Spiro also represented New York Mayor Eric Adams, who successfully lobbied Trump’s Justice Department to throw out his corruption case. Spiro didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Two days after Trump’s inauguration, Musk replied to a user on X calling for Ver’s pardon. “That’s up to the President but I have asked whether this is possible,” Musk wrote. Four days later, Ver’s hopes were dashed, with Musk posting that the early Bitcoin advocate shouldn’t get a pardon because he gave up his US citizenship when he moved to St Kitts.

Ver then shifted gears, adding Georgia attorney David Schoen, who represented Trump during his second impeachment trial, to his case. Schoen said he wasn’t advocating for a pardon for Ver but was brought in to litigate the pending criminal case.

Ver also paid longtime Trump ally Roger Stone $600,000 in the first quarter to lobby on his behalf, according to disclosure records. Stone’s agenda focused on the government’s prosecution of Ver and crypto tax policies, the disclosures show, though he also used his social media platform to throw support behind Ver’s pardon effort. “What they did to me,” Stone posted on X in January, “what they tried to do to Donald Trump. They are now trying to do it to Roger Ver.”

A spokesperson for Ver didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Roger Ver holds up his St Kitts passport in Tokyo in June 2014.

Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg

Stone, who was pardoned by Trump during the first administration, has used his online presence to amplify the clemency campaigns of several crypto figures, including Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht. Trump pardoned Ulbricht, who was serving a life sentence for overseeing dark web marketplace Silk Road, in January, following through on a pre-election promise to the Libertarian Party.

Stone did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao hired Washington attorney Teresa Goody Guillen to push for “executive relief,” according to a lobbying disclosure filed in March. The Wall Street Journal has reported he’s pushing for a pardon. Zhao served four months in prison after pleading guilty to failing to safeguard Binance against money laundering. While he lives in Dubai, his conviction can have ramifications for his ability to do business in the US.

Changpeng Zhao arrives at federal court in Seattle in April 2024.

Photographer: David Ryder/Bloomberg

Neither Goody Guillen nor Zhao responded to requests for comment. Disclosure records show she wasn’t active as a lobbyist on his behalf in the first quarter.

Carlos Watson is another white-collar beneficiary of Trump’s clemencies. The co-founder of the now defunct digital media company Ozy Media had his sentence commuted March 28, a decision that blindsided federal prosecutors in Brooklyn and came hours before Watson was due to begin his prison sentence. This is at odds with the traditional process of seeking input from prosecutors on clemency applications.

Carlos Watson exits federal court in Brooklyn, New York, in December.

Photographer: Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg

In recent court filings, one of Watson’s lawyers, Arthur Aidala, said $1 million posted to secure his client’s bail would be paid to him as reimbursement for his efforts in securing the commutation. Aidala is well-connected in conservative circles. His firm’s client list has included former Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Alan Dershowitz.

“This has been a long journey for Carlos Watson and we are grateful to the president for the commutation,” Aidala said in an interview.

Traditionally, clemency applications passing through the Justice Department’s pardon office can take years, involving extensive vetting by the FBI. Milton, the former electric-truck executive, however succeeded at landing a full and unconditional pardon in about two months.

Brad Bondi, brother to Attorney General Pam Bondi, represented Milton at his trial in New York in 2022 but recused himself from the pardon efforts, Milton said. He was also represented by Marc Mukasey, a criminal defense attorney whose father was US attorney general under George W. Bush.

Milton said his appellate attorney Alexandra Shapiro filed the paperwork with the Justice Department in January and then fielded questions from the White House Counsel’s office. However, a person familiar with the process said Milton’s pardon didn’t follow the traditional review process through the Justice Department’s pardon attorney’s office.

Twitter: Trevor Milton on Twitter / X

Milton, who has also been promoting a documentary about his plight, downplayed suggestions his political donations influenced his pardon prospects. He says he was just “lucky” he was prosecuted by the Southern District of New York, the same office Trump has taken aim at repeatedly.

(Adds comment from White House pardon czar)

--With assistance from Hadriana Lowenkron, Patricia Hurtado, Sabrina Willmer and Chris Dolmetsch.

To contact the authors of this story:
Ava Benny-Morrison in New York at abennymorris@bloomberg.net

Bill Allison in Washington at ballison14@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Brendan Walsh at bwalsh8@bloomberg.net

Benjamin Bain

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