The recent 60 Minutes report on presidential pardons raised a legitimate concern, and we want to talk about it. People seeking clemency should never be defrauded, exploited, or led to believe that a presidential pardon can be bought or guaranteed.And that story deserves to be told.But where the report went wrong, in our view, was allowing the conduct of private pardon brokers to bleed into a more important narrative about President Donald Trump’s use of constitutional clemency authority.Weaponization Watch has watched Lesley Stahl’s coverage of President Trump for years, and we’ve had so many concerns about the way her stories are framed. Sadly, this report was no exception. By the time the segment was over, viewers had been given plenty of reasons to be suspicious, but much less context about how presidential clemency actually works or what was behind some of the statistics that were presented.All of that matters, especially for us, an organization that works directly with people and families navigating this tangled, emotional process.Stahl emphasized that approximately 70 percent of President Trump’s second-term clemency actions hadn’t gone through the traditional Department of Justice process.But what Lesley left out was how that process isn’t constitutionally required.Article II gives the pardon power directly to the President. The Office of the Pardon Attorney can review cases and make recommendations, but those recommendations are on an advisory basis only. A president isn’t legally required to use that office or follow its conclusions.CBS also reported that the number rises to approximately 92 percent when the January 6 pardons, commutations, and dismissed prosecutions are included.And this is where context becomes really important.Those J6 cases didn’t represent hundreds of unrelated pardons that were quietly arranged through some separate deals. They came out of one sweeping presidential proclamation issued on January 20, 2025.That proclamation granted pardons to most people convicted of J6 related offenses, commuted the sentences of 14 individuals, and directed the Justice Department to dismiss pending indictments. President Trump described the action as an effort to end “a grave national injustice” and begin “a process of national reconciliation.”The official proclamation is publicly available for every American to read.Weaponization Watch has been deeply involved with J6 defendants and their families, and our position on those prosecutions is well known. We believe many defendants were subjected to politically biased treatment that included aggressive arrests, lengthy incarceration and severe detention conditions, while their families were left dealing with financial devastation and emotional trauma.Critics strongly disagree with our view of the January 6 prosecutions, and that’s fine. But reducing the clemency action to a statistic about cases that “bypassed” the Justice Department leaves out what actually happened.Whatever someone thinks of President Trump’s decision, it was a fully announced policy action carried out openly by the President. It wasn’t hundreds of secret pardon transactions, or some “autopen” disaster. The 60 Minutes investigation also focused on outside consultants and lobbyists charging extraordinary amounts of money while claiming they could create access or political pressure. According to CBS, some of those fees reached hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars.If someone is making fraudulent promises to desperate applicants, that should be investigated and called out. If the evidence supports wrongdoing, the people responsible should be held accountable.But private brokers, and runmored scam artists and grifters “selling” access isn’t proof that President Trump sold a pardon or participated in a corrupt transaction.The White House told CBS that the administration uses a review process involving the Department of Justice, White House counsel, and pardon office and czar. It also maintained that hiring or paying a lobbyist doesn’t guarantee clemency, at all.Weaponization Watch doesn’t know the men featured in the report personally, but what we do know is that nobody can guarantee a presidential pardon. Period. Anyone telling a family otherwise should immediately raise a massive red flag.People looking for clemency are often already frightened, overwhelmed, and desperate for someone to hear their case. That’s exactly what can make them vulnerable to groups claiming to have the “right connection” or promising an outcome that isn’t theirs to promise.Justice shouldn’t feel like something available only to the person who can write the biggest check.There’s another side of this story that Weaponization Watch sees constantly, and it has very little to do with wealthy lobbyists or Washington access.We work with men and women who say they’d never previously been in serious trouble but suddenly found themselves facing the immense power of federal prosecutors and the US criminal justice system.When that happens, the case doesn’t stop with the person whose name appears on the paperwork. Families can spend years trying to hold themselves together while someone they love is incarcerated. Children grow up during that time, parents get older, ad financial stability disappears quickly. Meanwhile, the people left behind try to understand a legal system most of them never imagined they’d have to navigate.Also, it’s fair to note that clemency applicants aren’t all asking for the same thing.Some say they were wrongly convicted. Others acknowledge wrongdoing but believe their punishment was excessive. There are also people who’ve served substantial time, are genuinely rehabilitated, and are asking whether continued incarceration still makes sense.Those cases should be examined individually and carefully.But that isn’t the world viewers saw in the 60 Minutes report, but it’s the world Weaponization Watch deals with every single day.Weaponization Watch exists in part to address the human consequences of weaponized or excessive prosecution.We’re not a law firm, and we don’t promise anyone a pardon. What we can do is help families find credible information, better understand the clemency process, locate available resources, and recognize warning signs that somebody may be taking advantage of them.Our advice on this point couldn’t be clearer:Do not pay someone because they’ve claimed they can guarantee you a pardon. Nobody other than the President can grant one, and nobody can promise what a President will decide.But protecting applicants from dishonest actors is only part of the problem.The clemency system also needs to become more accessible and transparent for ordinary people who don’t have money or political connections. Thousands of applications may never receive meaningful consideration, and people shouldn’t need wealth, fame, or access to powerful Washington figures simply to have their stories heard.That’s a much deeper and more layered conversation than simply pointing a camera at expensive pardon brokers and saying, “Aha!”It’s also a more important one.Presidential clemency has always been controversial.Presidents from both parties have gone outside traditional Justice Department recommendations. Categorical pardons aren’t new, and neither are controversial grants of clemency involving relatives, political allies, donors, draft resisters, or other recipients who sparked public debate. Just look at Joe Biden’s actions before he left office. Clearly, not every presidential pardon is wise. And yes, presidents should always be under close scrutiny.But history shows that using the clemency power outside the Justice Department’s ordinary process isn’t automatically unlawful or evidence of corruption.The Constitution gives the President clemency authority because there are times when justice calls for mercy. Courts and prosecutors wield extraordinary power, but outcomes can still be disputed, sentences can be viewed as disproportionate, and circumstances can change after someone has spent years behind bars. Rehabilitation matters too.Weaponization Watch believes President Trump’s own experience with aggressive prosecution has influenced his interest in mercy and second chances, and that’s understandable. Others will interpret his decisions differently, but disagreement with a pardon isn’t evidence that the pardon was corrupt.That’s the line 60 Minutes needed to draw much more carefully. They missed the mark.There’s a serious question about whether private brokers are exploiting vulnerable people seeking clemency. There’s also a legitimate debate about whether ordinary applicants can get a fair hearing without money or connections. Neither question, on its own, proves that a presidential pardon was exchanged for money or some personal benefit.Those two very separate issues can’t just be blended together and presented as one story.Weaponization Watch is grateful to former US Pardon Attorney Ed Martin for taking the time to meet with families, advocates, lawyers, and defendants and hear their stories.For people who had spent years believing they’d become invisible inside the system, simply knowing somebody was willing to listen gave them hope.His successor now has an enormous responsibility.There are people sitting in prison under sentences that advocates believe are excessive and urgently deserve another look. Their applications shouldn’t disappear into some bureaucratic black hole because their families don’t know somebody powerful or can’t afford an influential advocate.That should be part of the national conversation about clemency too.Investigating fraud is legit, and so is exposing someone who takes advantage of desperate families. But the behavior of private consultants shouldn’t be used to make constitutional clemency look sinister.A pardon isn’t proof of corruption, and mercy shouldn’t become something reserved for the wealthy or well-connected.Weaponization Watch believes justice and mercy can exist together. The people asking for both deserve a system willing to hear them.Weaponization Watch is here because too many Americans believe they’ve been ignored by institutions that were supposed to protect their rights. Our work is rooted in due process, transparency, accountability, and the recognition that government action often harms people far beyond the person named in a case.Click here to support our mission.Stay connected and follow the fight for justice on social media.[ X ] [ TRUTH SOCIAL ] [ GETTR ] [ INSTAGRAM ] [ FACEBOOK ] [CYNTHIA HUGHES]
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