According to several documents obtained by the New York Times and interviews with dozens of lobbyists and lawyers, many of Trump’s allies have received large sums of cash to pardon the US president.
According to one document, the former Trump adviser and senior adviser agreed to receive $ 50,000 if he could persuade the president to pardon former CIA officer John Kyriako, who has been convicted of leaking classified information.
In addition, Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani,’s lawyer, told the former officer at a ceremony last year that if he gave $ 2 million to Giuliani, he would use his influence as one of the president’s closest advisers to secure his pardon. .
Although the convicted officer declined the offer, an aide told AFP that Giuliani was possibly selling amnesty illegally. But the former New York mayor and Trump’s personal lawyer challenged the remarks.
Kyriako was charged in 2012 with illegally revealing the name of a CIA officer involved in the artificial drowning of an American detainee and was later sentenced to 30 months in prison. He was told that he had to be pardoned in order to carry a weapon and receive a pension. But paying $ 2 million to revive the $ 700,000 pension was ridiculous to him.
Recent reports also suggest that Giuliani is no longer Trump’s favorite option for failing to prosecute him for challenging the November election results.
In addition, a lobbyist advising the White House on amnesty and reducing sentences sought to make money. Brett Tolman received tens of thousands of dollars and perhaps more to persuade the White House to grant amnesty in at least three different cases. The three pardons were for the son of a former Arkansas senator, the founder of an online drug sales network called Silk Road, and another man found guilty of fraud.
Former Republican senator Tim Hutchinson spent at least $ 10,000 on lobbying in the White House and Congress between 1993 and 2003 to pardon his son. The 71-year-old US senator’s son was convicted in 2019 of tax fraud and accepting bribes.
