{"id":2070,"date":"2026-06-15T21:09:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T21:09:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=2070"},"modified":"2026-06-15T21:09:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T21:09:28","slug":"exclusive-democrats-press-trump-administration-over-pay-to-play-pardons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=2070","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: Democrats press Trump administration over \u201cpay-to-play\u201d pardons"},"content":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON, June 15 (Reuters) – Two Democratic members of Congress on Monday pressed the administration of President Donald Trump to retain communication records related to pardons granted to recipients including an electric-vehicle manufacturer \u200bfound guilty of defrauding investors of hundreds of millions of dollars.<\/div>
Senator Peter Welch, a Judiciary Committee \u200cmember from Vermont, and Congressman Dave Min, an Oversight Committee member from California, made the request to determine whether \u201cimproper considerations, including quid pro quo or \u2018pay-to-play\u2019 dynamics, may have affected the clemency process,\u201d they wrote in letters to the White House, Justice Department \u200band U.S. Secret Service.<\/div>
The two lawmakers, citing coverage by Reuters and other media, in the letters \u200breviewed by the news agency said they have been looking into the administration\u2019s clemency \u2060efforts, which include pardons and commutations of sentences. They requested that all records be retained for 17 specific \u200bclemency recipients, including Trevor Milton, a businessman who was convicted in relation to a startup he ran touting electric \u200bvehicles that never became operational.<\/div>
Last week a Reuters investigation found that 96% of Trump\u2019s clemencies this term have gone to candidates, including Milton, who didn\u2019t meet longstanding Justice Department guidelines for pardons. In response to questions from Reuters, a spokesperson for Milton criticized \u200bhis conviction and said it had been politically motivated by prosecutors during the administration of President Joe Biden. \u200bThe spokesperson didn’t respond to a question about the letters from the lawmakers.<\/div>
Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, in a statement \u200cby \u2060email, called the letters “nothing more than a sad messaging attempt, coordinated between Democrats and their media allies.\u201d<\/div>
The Justice Department and Secret Service didn\u2019t respond to requests for comment about the letters from Welch and Min. Reuters last week reported that some clemency seekers, during in-person visits to President Trump, have routed pardon requests through the Secret \u200bService, instead of traditional channels \u200bat the Justice Department.<\/div>
The \u2060White House and Justice Department have both denied any impropriety with Trump\u2019s clemency actions. The administration has defended the president\u2019s constitutional power to pardon as \u201cabsolute\u201d and said the process \u200bunder Trump involves thorough and coordinated vetting by appropriate officials.<\/div>
In their letters, the \u200blawmakers questioned those \u2060assertions. \u201cWhile the president\u2019s pardon authority is broad,\u201d they wrote, \u201cCongress retains a legitimate legislative interest when credible questions arise regarding process, access, or abuse of power.\u201d<\/div>
Reuters\u2019 analysis of pardon, lobbying, and electoral records found that clemency in the current \u2060administration routinely \u200bignores longstanding protocol involving the Justice Department and instead hinges upon \u200ban informal and highly personalized network of influencers and advocates appealing to Trump himself. \u201cThis reporting,\u201d the lawmakers wrote, \u201craises serious questions about whether traditional \u200breview channels were circumvented and whether established review procedures were followed, bypassed, sidelined, or inconsistently applied.\u201d<\/div>