Trump-linked firm is lobbying for pardons and its first client already paid $500K

When is President Trump? returned to powerA group of former campaign and administration officials has launched a federal lobbying effort. Having signed up a number of institutional clients, Mo Strategies is now expanding into the new profitable world. amnesty.

Business is booming.

The Trump-linked firm signed a deal to lobby for “immigration and amnesty-related discussions” for law firm Blessinger Legal in Northern Virginia, according to federal lobbying disclosures filed in late May. The deal has already generated $500,000 in revenue for the firm, and more work is expected, Mo Strategies president Marty Obst said in an interview.

“We are one of the fastest-growing firms in D.C. and we help them navigate the environment and process,” Obst told CBS News. “What I was trying to do was provide guidance on what the process looks like and the types of cases that would be of interest to the White House.”

“There is both a legal and political process for pardons and pardons,” he added.

The pardon effort reflects how a cottage industry of well-connected lobbyists, lawyers and influencers engage in advocacy. presidential clemency It flourished during Mr. Trump’s second term. Mr. Trump has pardoned or commuted the prison sentences of some of his allies, as well as some who have been prosecuted. who hired people He has relations with the president.

Obst, who is listed as one of Blessinger Legal’s lobbyists on the disclosures, was a longtime political strategist who held senior roles in Mr. Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns and was a senior adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence. Another lobbyist, Robert Goad, worked in Trump’s first White House as the president’s special assistant on domestic policy and developed education policy for Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign.

The filing, which lists income of $500,000, states that Mo Strategies has been lobbying the White House and Department of Justice for the law firm this year. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Mr. Trump “finds it disgusting that anyone would even attempt to profit from pardons” and that the administration has a “rigorous review process” before applications reach the president’s desk.

A Justice Department spokesman said the pardon office “received a record number of pardon applications” and would review them “to provide the president with recommendations that are consistent, impartial, and uphold the rule of law.”

“There have been no deviations from this long-standing process,” the spokesman added.

Blessinger Legal was founded by Eileen Blessinger, an attorney who practices immigration law and litigates cases before U.S. immigration courts, asylum agencies, and the Department of State. His firm specializes in deportations and employment-based visas, among other areas.

Obst said that as Mr. Trump’s administration mounted a crackdown on immigrants, Blessinger contacted him to get guidance on new policies and to have him review dozens of his clients’ cases to determine which might be eligible for a potential amnesty. Some of Blessinger’s cases have a criminal court component, including for green card holders convicted of a crime, but he added that some of the clemency work may be for non-immigration-related cases.

“The Biden administration has really expanded the reach of the government, sometimes unfairly,” Obst told CBS News without elaborating on specifics. “There have been very aggressive prosecutions that, in some cases, appear very political. There are also cases that require further scrutiny. Whether they are pardoned or not, there is no guarantee of that.”

The disclosures show that Mo Strategies, based in Indianapolis, has signed lobbying contracts with companies paying up to $530,000 per filing period since Mr. Trump’s re-election. The highest-paying client was Tencent America, the U.S. subsidiary of Chinese technology group Tencent, where Obst helped navigate U.S. trade and defense policy. Other customers include NextEra Energy in Florida; Team Hemp, representing the American hemp industry in DC; Republika Srpska and most recently Blessinger Legal, according to federal statements.

The $500,000 in revenue Blessinger Legal reported in a single period represents one of the largest pardon-related disclosures in the U.S. Senate database, according to a CBS News analysis. More than two dozen lobbying efforts were recorded in this area during Mr. Trump’s second term, but only a small portion of them preceded clemency, records show. (Blessinger declined to comment for this story).

The largest amount, $960,000, was disclosed last year by political operatives Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl on behalf of nursing home operator Joseph Schwartz, who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a nearly $39 million payroll tax fraud scheme. Schwartz had served only three months of a three-year prison sentence when he received a pardon from Mr. Trump.

The Schwartz pardon is one of several that Senate and House Democrats are examining as part of a broader investigation into pardons and alleged pay-to-play dynamics. CBS News reported. If Democrats win majorities in both houses of Congress in the midterm elections, Mr. Trump’s leniency is expected to be the focus of their oversight efforts.

Obst said of the pardon effort: “I am preparing for possible oversight by Congress, and so we will ensure that any decision we make is carried out.”