Not much is known right now, beyond what CNN reported (here):
“The Justice Department is investigating a potential crime related to funneling money to the White House or related political committee in exchange for a presidential pardon, according to court records unsealed Tuesday in federal court.
“The disclosure is in 20 pages of partially redacted documents made public by the DC District Court on Tuesday afternoon. The records show Chief Judge Beryl Howell’s review in August of a request from prosecutors to access documents obtained in a search as part of a bribery-for-pardon investigation.
“The filings don’t reveal a timeline of the alleged scheme, or any names of people potentially involved, except that communications between people including at least one lawyer were seized from an office that was raided sometime before the end of this summer. No one appears to have been publicly charged with a related crime to date. The White House declined to comment on the court filing.”
The U.K.-based tabloid Daily Mail, which sometimes has more details than the U.S. press about breaking stories, says (here),
“A court memo unsealed Tuesday night has revealed that the government is investigating an alleged scheme by two officials who sought to bribe the White House in exchange for a presidential pardon for an unidentified prisoner. The information was contained in a federal judge’s memorandum opinion released Tuesday …. Although heavily-redacted, the memorandum mentions an alleged ‘Bribery-for-pardon scheme’ that went all the way to the White House.”
This is a developing story, and I expect we’ll hear more about it in coming weeks or months.
Update (12/4/20): “A Trump campaign fundraiser and a lawyer for the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were involved in an effort to get a pardon from the White House … in the early days of the Trump administration,” NBC News reported, which identified the fundraiser as Elliott Brody and the lawyer as Abbe Lowell. The effort was spearheaded by Sanford Diller, a wealthy California developer, and ended upon Diller’s death in 2018. Diller wanted a pardon for Hugh Baras, a psychologist doing time for tax evasion, and offered a “substantial” political contribution in exchange for the pardon, according to the New York Times, which broke the story. Baras was released in 2019 upon completing his sentence. Lowell has denied wrongdoing and NBC News pointed out that “lawyers are permitted to seek a reduction in sentencing or pardoning for their clients.” (But offering a quid pro quo, such as money in the form of a political donation, likely crosses a line between legitimate advocacy and illegal bribery; so the question for investigators is whether anyone besides Diller was a party to his quid pro quo offer. — Ed.) Read story here.