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Justice Department investigating possible 'bribery-for-pardon' scheme

Justice Department investigating possible 'bribery-for-pardon' scheme
Posted at 5:29 PM, Dec 01, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-01 20:42:13-05

The Justice Department is examining a possible crime related to bribing the White House with money in exchange for a presidential pardon.

According to federal court documents, which were first obtained by CNN, over 50 digital devices, including iPhones, iPads, laptops, thumb drives, and computer drives, were seized via search warrants as part of the government's bribery-for-pardon investigation.

The court documents reveal that the emails confiscated show a "secret lobbying scheme" between unnamed individuals who tried to secure a presidential pardon in exchange for a "substantial political contribution or reprieve of a sentence" for a redacted individual.

According to the Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, who unsealed the court documents Tuesday, granted the investigators access to the emails that were not protected by the attorney-client privilege.

However, the 20-page court documents did not specify that a bribe was ever offered, accepted, nor does it name any individual or President Donald Trump, NBC News reported.