Felon Spent $1 Million Seeking Trump Pardon

“In April, Alina Habba, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, extolled her office’s role in the sentencing of a former nursing home magnate to three years in prison for defrauding the government of $38 million. The man, Joseph Schwartz, was alleged to have overseen a ‘collapsed nursing home empire’ and ‘willfully’ failed to pay employment taxes, Habba’s announcement said,” the Washington Post reports.

“Around that time, Schwartz paid $960,000 to two lobbyists ‘seeking a federal pardon,’ according to their lobbying filing.”

“While many people have sought pardons from President Donald Trump, few could afford to spend such a sum to seek their freedom. The disclosure provides a rare look at how federal convicts are maneuvering to gain clemency during Trump’s second term and at some of the people offering to help them.”