CBS News’ “60 Minutes” set out to deliver what appeared to be a major exposé of President Donald Trump’s pardon process. The program promoted a hidden-camera investigation that portrayed the administration as operating what it described as a “pardon economy,” suggesting that wealthy individuals could potentially pay enormous sums of money for access to presidential clemency.
The segment went even further. Its presentation suggested that so-called pardon brokers were offering clients a path toward securing a clean slate from Trump, raising the obvious question of whether presidential pardons had become another commodity available to people with enough money and connections.
But there was an immediate problem with the evidence presented.
At the center of the investigation were Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman, two controversial figures with long records of publicity-seeking schemes and legal trouble. Their involvement dramatically complicates the narrative CBS attempted to build.
