Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl (pardon brokers)
- Status
- Boosie not pardoned; refund claim pending in arbitration
- Type
- Broker case · Sep 13, 2026
- The case
- Not a clemency grant. Two political operatives with prior convictions for a 2020 voter-suppression robocall scheme marketed pardon access.
THE LINK TO TRUMP’S ORBIT
Rapper Boosie Badazz told 60 Minutes he paid the brokers $600,000 up front to pursue a pardon that never came; CBS News reports he has filed an arbitration claim to recover half of it, $300,000, which he says the agreement promised back if no pardon came. The brokers asked $300,000 from wildlife-trafficking felon Ammon Covino. 60 Minutes reported some brokers charge up to $3 million.
WHAT THE RECORD SHOWS
Reuters identified 290 “influencers” who advocated 624 times in 197 successful second-term clemency bids, with intermediaries charging as much as $2 million per engagement.
RESPONSE
Wohl told 60 Minutes there is nothing corrupt or improper about their work; 60 Minutes reports the pair refuse to refund Boosie, calling his contract invalid, and deny sending one of the texts it showed. Ed Martin, who ran the Justice Department’s pardon office until nine days before the broadcast, told 60 Minutes he had never seen a broker quid pro quo, saw no evidence of “magical brokers” and called such brokers snake-oil salesmen.
Correction. An earlier version said a civil suit over Boosie Badazz’s fee was pending and that pardon office director Ed Martin told 60 Minutes the official route is free. The refund claim is in arbitration. Martin had left the pardon office nine days before the broadcast and did not say that on the program; the entry now gives what he told 60 Minutes. Corrected September 18, 2026.
SOURCES
- CBS News / 60 Minutes: Paid brokers tout ties to Trump’s orbit to lobby for presidential pardons ↗
- The Spokesman-Review (Reuters): Democrats press Trump administration over ‘pay-to-play’ pardons ↗
- House Judiciary Committee Democrats: Pardons Inc.: Democratic staff report on second-term clemency ↗
- CBS News: Pardon brokers offer to “put pressure on the president,” at sky-high costs ↗
- Fox 8 WVUE (Gray Louisiana): Boosie seeks $300,000 refund after pardon effort falls through ↗
- KSLA News 12 (Gray Louisiana): Boosie takes $600K pardon fight to 60 Minutes after failed Trump clemency push ↗
A connection recorded here is not proof that it bought the outcome. Where a response exists, it is part of the record. How entries are labeled · Submit a correction or response · Download the ledger
