Unsealed court ruling discloses bribe-for-pardon
probe related to Trump White House
The name of the person apparently seeking a pardon was
redacted.
President Donald Trump tweeted that the investigation
was "fake news."
By JOSH
GERSTEIN
12/01/2020
11:51 PM EST
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/01/bribe-pardon-probe-trump-white-house-442128
A court
ruling made public Tuesday indicates that federal prosecutors have been
pursuing an investigation into potential bribery in connection with an effort
to secure a pardon from President Donald Trump, although details of the inquiry
remain murky.
The opinion
issued by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell in August and released
in a heavily redacted form Tuesday shows that Howell granted prosecutors
permission to examine emails involving lawyers and an effort to seek a pardon
for someone whose name was deleted from the public version of the opinion.
Howell
ruled that the inclusion of a non-lawyer and of a lawyer she described as an
“attorney-advocate” who did not appear to be providing legal services voided
the attorney-client privilege, at least for some of the messages.
“The
attorney-client privilege does not protect communications disclosed to third
parties,” the judge wrote.
Howell’s
ruling said prosecutors are investigating a “bribery-for-pardon scheme” in
which someone “would offer a substantial political contribution in exchange for
a presidential pardon or reprieve of sentence” for an unidentified person.
Despite the
rather direct language in Howell’s ruling, Trump dismissed news reports of a
probe into possible corruption of the pardon process.
“Pardon
investigation is fake news,” Trump tweeted Tuesday night.
A Justice
Department official suggested the focus of the investigation was not on White
House officials. “No government official is the subject or target of the
investigation referenced in the court opinion,” said the DOJ official, who
spoke on condition of anonymity.
Howell’s
opinion provides tantalizing hints about the probe. She says it involved the
seizure of more than 50 digital media devices, such as phones, iPads and
laptops. In addition, it appears the pardon probe grew out of an earlier
investigation.
The judge
said prosecutors also said they were investigation whether lobbying efforts for
a pardon violated the Lobbying Disclosure Act because those involved didn’t
register under the law, but Howell threw cold water on that, noting that the
law’s requirements are fairly loose and allow some lobbying for clients without
registering.
Prosecutors
opposed releasing the memo, even in redacted form, but Howell — an appointee of
President Barack Obama — overruled their objections. The judge’s August opinion
described the investigation as “sensitive and ongoing.” But her description of
why prosecutors wanted the entire opinion kept under wraps simply quoted them
as saying it “identifies both individuals and conduct that have not been
charged by the grand jury.”
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