Trump’s ‘Pardon Economy’ Blooms With Controversial Beneficiaries
A TPM Weekender piece ranks Trump’s post-2020 clemencies, arguing a rising ‘pardon economy’ under Trump II loosened traditional safeguards and rewarded allies, donors, and well-connected figures—from former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández to Rudy Giuliani, Binance’s Changpeng Zhao, Rod Blagojevich, Rep. Henry Cuellar, and others—through a streamlined pardon process led by Ed Martin. The article also notes Boosie Badazz pursuing arbitration over a failed pardon push and critiques the broader political incentives behind these controversial clemencies.