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White House Denies Trump Influenced by Pardon Brokers

7 sources · updated 2026-09-15
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0 left · 1 center · 1 right

What happened

CBS’s 60 Minutes aired a hidden-camera investigation showing lobbyists Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl meeting convicted felon Ammon Covino and his wife at the Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner, Virginia, in mid-August and offering to pursue a presidential pardon from Donald Trump for $300,000 by applying pressure through contacts and influencers rather than the Justice Department. Covino, previously denied after a standard DOJ application, was cooperating with CBS. White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said Trump is not influenced by such lobbyists, does not know who they are, and that paying them is a waste of money; White House Counsel Will Scharf said Trump performs clemency duties in an ethically sound manner. A CBS analysis of Justice Department data found about 70% of Trump’s second-term clemency actions (92% including January 6 cases) did not go through DOJ. Burkman and Wohl said they are lawful lobbyists, not participants in pay-to-play.
Sourcing check · Partly on the record · 7 articles

2 of 5 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report. Lauren Bis denied part of it on the record.

What these terms mean and how they're counted
On the record · names a source 2 of 5
On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Jack Burkman, Jacob Wohl, Ammon Covino, Rep. Jamie Raskin and White House spokesperson
Primary evidence · cites a document or data 2 of 5
Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: hidden camera footage, video, 60 Minutes investigative report
Credits another outlet 0 of 5
The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
Unnamed sources 0 of 5
The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this.
On-record denial 4
A named person or institution says the claim, or part of it, is not true. It is on the record — someone signed their name to it — but it is not confirmation, so it never counts toward On the record. Criticizing or dissenting from a decision is not a denial. The count is how many people or institutions deny it; each is listed with the first article that carried the denial. Here: Lauren Bis (Fox News, Sep 14, 23:34 UTC); White House (Fox News, Sep 14, 23:34 UTC); Jack Burkman (CBS News, Sep 15, 00:45 UTC); Jacob Wohl (CBS News, Sep 15, 00:45 UTC)
How it developed
When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Sep 13, 23:53 UTC by CBS News, naming its source. First document in the first report, from CBS News (hidden camera footage).
Not counted 2
Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
ONE-SIDED THIS WEEK. Only right-leaning outlets have covered this story in the last two days; The Hill reported it on 2026-09-09.
Omitted — what each side leaves out

Unpacked

Right-leaning coverage reduces the 60 Minutes report to a denied allegation plus a Biden comparison, omitting recorded pitches and the share of clemencies that skipped Justice Department review. Fox News quoted a spokesperson saying anyone spending money to lobby for pardons is foolishly wasting their money. Left-leaning coverage has not reported the story. A reader therefore never sees the $300,000 sales pitch captured on hidden camera. That coverage also omits that 70 percent of second-term clemency actions were not routed through the Department of Justice. Right-leaning coverage leads with the denial and Biden's violent-criminal commutations; the investigation leads with lobbyists promising to put pressure on the president. Has any of the money paid to these brokers been shown to reach a White House decision-maker?
Bottom line

Fox News ran the White House denial that paying pardon brokers works and left out the recorded $300,000 pitch plus the 70 percent of second-term clemencies that skipped the Justice Department.

The receipts — 4 facts one side's coverage lacks
  • About 70 percent of Trump's second-term clemency actions were not routed through the Justice Department numberin CBS News · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • Pardon brokers have charged fees as high as $3 million numberin CBS News · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • Joseph Schwartz's lobbyists disclosed $960,000 in fees before he received a pardon individual casein CBS News · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • Torence Hatch paid $600,000 up front and later sought a refund after receiving no pardon individual casein CBS News · absent from left-leaning coverage
The Right View
Fox News reported the White House denial after the 60 Minutes segment, quoting Bis on a review process involving White House counsel, DOJ, pardon czar Alice Johnson, and the president, and highlighting her criticism of Biden-era clemency for violent offenders. CBS News documented the Burkman-Wohl pitch on hidden camera, reported fees from hundreds of thousands of dollars to as high as $3 million, cited lobbying disclosures including $960,000 from nursing-home operator Joseph Schwartz (later pardoned), and described brokers such as Brett Tolman sending petitions directly to the White House. CBS interviewed clemency scholar Mark Osler, former pardon attorney Ed Martin (who denied seeing quid pro quo), and others; it also reported Democrats including Rep. Jamie Raskin and Sen. Chuck Schumer pledging investigations if they control Congress, and noted a client dispute involving rapper Torence Hatch.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is substantive: it rests on hidden-camera recordings, named brokers and clients, specific fees, federal lobbying disclosures, on-the-record interviews, and a checkable data analysis of clemency routing. Established are that brokers market high-fee access and pressure campaigns, that some clients have paid large sums, that a large share of recent grants bypassed traditional DOJ review, and that the White House denies knowledge of or influence by these lobbyists. Claims that brokers actually determine who is pardoned, or that the arrangement is pay-to-play or bribery, remain alleged and are disputed by the White House and by Martin. Original reporting is from CBS News/60 Minutes, with Fox News covering the administration response. Watch for further lobbying filings, comments from brokers who did not respond, outcomes of Hatch’s claim, and any congressional document requests or additional pardon-timing records.

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