The Art of the Pardon: How Trump Turned Clemency Into a Business

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<p>In the final stretch of the midterm election campaign, polls have found that voters are latching onto the perceived corruption of the Trump administration.</p><p>Kenneth P. Vogel, a New York Times investigative journalist, explores one major story line feeding that perception: how those around the president have turned the pardon process into a business.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/kenneth-p-vogel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Kenneth P. Vogel</strong></a>, an investigative journalist for The New York Times.</p><p>Background reading:&nbsp;</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/us/politics/schwartz-trump-pardon-industry.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The pardon industry</a> offers rich offenders a path to President Trump.</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/20/us/politics/julio-herrera-pardon-alina-habba.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">A billionaire wanted a pardon from Mr. Trump.</a> His family gave Alina Habba a $50 million deal.</li></ul><p>Photo: Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times</p> <p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily"><strong>nytimes.com/thedaily</strong></a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p><p> </p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>