Justice Department Investigating Possible Bribery Scheme In Exchange For Presidential Pardon

The Justice Department is investigating a potential bribery scheme in exchange for a presidential pardon or commutation. No evidence or documentation directly ties President Donald Trump to the proposed deal.

The probe was made public on Tuesday after a federal judge unsealed court documents Tuesday.

The heavily redacted documents did not clearly show who was involved, but did outline the plot. A convict, imprisoned as early as this past summer, had worked with two other individuals to funnel money in the form of political donations in exchange for a pardon or commutation, though it is unclear where the money would have been headed.

A lawyer for the convict appears to have had conversations with the White House Counsel’s Office about the possible pardon or commutation, but it is unclear if the White House was aware of the scheme.

Trump called the investigation “Fake News” on Twitter.

Pardon investigation is Fake News!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2020

However, the investigation — per details made public — has not accused Trump or his team of being directly involved at all.

Lawyer and former acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration Chuck Rosenberg told NBC: “It could very well be that somebody in prison and perhaps a friend or lawyer on the outside thought of a plan to try and bribe a White House official to get a pardon. It doesn’t mean anyone at the White House accepted a bribe or did anything wrong. So you have to be careful about that.”