United States of America

Rapper Sues Lobbyists Over Failed Trump Pardon

Is this a corrupt Trump-era clemency economy, a celebrity scammed by fraudsters or a client rewriting a failed deal?

Published 1 day ago

Rapper Sues Lobbyists Over Failed Trump Pardon

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Above: Rapper Boosie Badazz, legally Torence Hatch, attends a basketball game in Atlanta on April 9, 2024. Image credit: Paras Griffin/Getty Images

The Spin

Anti-Trump narrative

The Boosie pardon scandal exposes a booming clemency economy where millions flow to lobbyists with zero oversight, all because Trump gutted the DOJ's traditional pardon vetting process. Convicted felons Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman pocketed $600K, falsely told Boosie's lawyer a pardon had been signed, then claimed bankruptcy when pressed for a refund. This is what happens when presidential pardons get handed out through backroom deals instead of legitimate legal channels.

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Pro-Trump narrative

Boosie got scammed by two shady operatives who had zero connection to the Trump White House — the administration never heard from Wohl or Burkman and made clear their involvement would actively hurt any clemency chances. Paying for a pardon is illegal, and Boosie wasn't even communicating with anyone in the actual administration. The blame here falls squarely on the fraudsters Boosie hired, not on Trump.

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Narrative C

Boosie agreed to pay for access and advocacy — not guaranteed results. After extensive lobbying, he's trying to rewrite the deal by pointing to a refund clause that was never actually agreed to. If anyone derailed his pardon bid, it was Boosie's own alleged violent arrest in Texas earlier this year, not a lack of effort by his lobbyists.

TMZ