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bob menendez
Sensing Opportunity, White-Collar Criminals Vie for Trump Pardons
"Everybody that is in prison now is keenly aware of the environment, and it's become a very hot topic within the low- and minimum-security inmate communities," said a consultant who has advised white-collared convicts.
Mar 11, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump began his second term with a blitz of clemency actions, including issuing pardons and commutations for over 1,500 rioters convicted in connection to the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol and pardoning Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, and now the president's "moves to expand the use of pardons have white-collar defendants jolting to attention," according to Tuesday reporting from Politico.
Those reportedly angling for clemency include individuals like jailed crypto titan Sam Bankman-Fried, former Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) who earlier this year was sentenced to 11 years in prison for corruption and bribery, two reality TV stars guilty of defrauding banks and evading taxes, and a member of the music group the Fugees who was convicted for taking part in an embezzlement scheme.
Sam Mangel, a consultant to people convicted of white-collar crime who has advised individuals like Bankman-Fried, told Politico that "everybody that is in prison now is keenly aware of the environment, and it's become a very hot topic within the low- and minimum-security inmate communities."
According to The New York Times, "The new administration has a team of appointees focusing on the process early in Mr. Trump's term, with a particular focus on clemency grants that underscore the president's own grievances about what he sees as the political weaponization of the justice system."
Accordingly, clemency petitioners are "tailoring their pitches to the president by emphasizing their loyalty to him and echoing his claims of political persecution," per the Times.
For example, a lawyer representing conservative reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley wrote in a document prepared for the Trump administration that the couple's conviction for bank fraud and tax evasion "exemplifies the weaponization of justice against conservatives and public figures, eroding basic constitutional protections."
Some, like Menendez, have made themselves out to be the victims of the "corrupt" justice system.
"President Trump is right," wrote Menendez on X the day he was sentenced to 11 years in prison. "This process is political and has been corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores integrity to the system."
In Trump's first term, his use of clemency was "all about cronyism and partisanship and helping out his friends and his political advisers," Rachel Barkow, a professor at New York University School of Law, told the Times. This time around, "the potential for corruption is higher," she said, "because they're starting early, they have figured out how they want to set it up so that people have a pipeline to get to them."
This shift in Trump's second term includes disempowering the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney and instead shifting control of the clemency operations to the White House Counsel's Office, according to anonymous sources cited by the Times.
Elizabeth Oyer, who had been the U.S. pardon attorney since being appointed in 2022, was fired last week after she refused to recommend that actor Mel Gibson—who is a supporter of Trump—should have his gun rights restored, according Monday reporting from the Times. Gibson lost his gun rights following a 2011 domestic violence misdemeanor conviction.
In late February, Trump also appointed White House "pardon czar" Alice Johnson. Both the appointment of Johnson and the departure of Oyer, "signal that Trump is not done exercising his clemency powers," according to Politico.
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Menendez Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for Bribery
"Bob Menendez's blatant corruption made a mockery of the Senate and was one more piece of the shattering of Americans' trust in our government in recent years," said the head of one government watchdog.
Jan 29, 2025
"Americans can feel secure in the knowledge that, in at least some cases, corruption does not go unpunished," said one government watchdog on Wednesday after a federal district court judge in New York sentenced former Sen. Robert Menendez to 11 years in prison for bribery, extortion, and other crimes.
Menendez, who represented New Jersey as a Democrat in the Senate for 18 years, was convicted last year of trading his political influence, including as former chair of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, for gifts including cash, gold bricks, and a luxury car.
A jury found him guilty of accepting bribes from three businessmen and acting as a foreign agent on behalf of Egypt.
He resigned from the Senate soon after his conviction, as his colleagues began considering an expulsion. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) led the call for his resignation, saying Menendez should step down to "maintain the integrity" of his Senate seat.
He was convicted of using his political clout to intervene in criminal cases on behalf of his associates, two of whom were also sentenced on Wednesday.
"It is critical that we hold our elected leaders to the highest professional and ethical standards."
Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) said the sentence was "in line with these very serious offenses."
"Bob Menendez's blatant corruption made a mockery of the Senate and was one more piece of the shattering of Americans' trust in our government in recent years," said Bookbinder. "By sending Menendez to prison, the judge has shown that the system can work."
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, also a Democrat, said that although Menendez "accomplished many things in behalf of our state and our residents... sadly he will be remembered for putting his own interests and financial gain ahead of the public interest."
"At a time when our country is deeply divided," said Murphy, "it is critical that we hold our elected leaders to the highest professional and ethical standards."
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'What's the Holdup?' Menendez to Resign Next Month
"It's time for New Jersey to move forward," said U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, who is running to replace the senator.
Jul 23, 2024
One day after the U.S. Senate Ethics Committee notified Sen. Bob Menendez that it had voted to move toward a potential vote on expelling him from the upper chamber of Congress, the New Jersey Democrat told Gov. Phil Murphy that he would resign, effective August 20.
Menendez announced his resignation a week after he was convicted of 16 counts of bribery and acting as a foreign agent.
But with senators and members of the U.S. House long having called on the lawmaker to resign over the federal bribery charges, one leading ethics group asked why Menendez was waiting nearly a month to leave office.
"What's the holdup?" asked Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
Menendez was convicted last week of accepting bribes from three businessmen and acting as a foreign agent on behalf of the Egyptian government. He pleaded not guilty.
CREW promptly called on Menendez to resign after his conviction, saying he had spent years "ducking accountability for corruption."
"There is no room in the Senate for a convicted felon, especially not one convicted of taking bribes," said CREW president Noah Bookbinder last week. "He must resign today or be immediately expelled."
Manu Raju of CNN pointed out that the August 20 resignation date allows Menendez "to collect another taxpayer-funded paycheck."
Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.), the chair and vice chair of the Senate Ethics Committee, respectively, said Monday that the panel had voted to begin "an adjudicatory review of [Menendez's] alleged violations of Senate Rules."
"An adjudicatory review is required when the committee considers disciplinary actions, such as expulsion or censure," said the senators.
Bloomberg reporter Steven Dennis noted that lawmakers' resignation before their colleagues have a chance to recommend their expulsion is "a pattern throughout history."
Menendez was convicted of using his influence to meddle in three state and federal criminal cases to protect his associates, as well as taking actions that benefited the government of Egypt in exchange for bribes. Prosecutors said he ghostwrote a letter to his Senate colleagues about lifting a hold on military aid to Egypt. He did the favors in exchange for stacks of gold bars and $480,000 in cash that he hid in his home.
The senator wrote to Murphy that "I fully intend to appeal the jury's verdict, all the way and including to the Supreme Court."
Menendez's term was set to expire in January 2025; following his resignation, Murphy will be empowered to appoint someone to serve for the remainder of the senator's term. U.S. Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) is running to replace Menendez and is favored to win against Republican Curtis Bagshaw. The disgraced senator also launched a bid last month to run for his seat as an Independent.
Kim said Tuesday that Menendez had "made the right decision for New Jersey by agreeing to step down next month."
"It's time for New Jersey to move forward," he said. "We have big challenges ahead of us, and we can only tackle them if we show the people of our state that this is the beginning of a new era of politics built on integrity, service, and delivering for all families."
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