Podcast Episode Summary

Podcast: The Daily Beast Podcast
Host: Joanna Coles
Guest: Liz Oyer, former pardons attorney for Joe Biden
Episode: "How Trump Could Bury Any of His Goons' Crimes"
Date: February 24, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode explores the controversial and explosive expansion of the presidential pardon power under Donald Trump’s administrations, focusing on how pardons have become transactional, politicized, and often unmoored from the traditional standards of merit and justice. Joanna Coles and guest Liz Oyer dissect the emergence of what they term a “pardon economy”—where presidential clemency is reportedly bought, bartered, or strategically dispensed to protect allies and silence critics—raising urgent questions about justice, transparency, and accountability.

Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. The “Pardon Economy” Under Trump

• Transactional Pardons:
  Trump has redefined presidential pardons as political tools and commodities, rewarding supporters, donors, and insiders while bypassing traditional Department of Justice review processes.

  • "Donald Trump has turned the pardon power into a completely transactional instrument. He has monetized it and made it a political tool in ways we have never seen before in this country."
    —Liz Oyer [04:13]

• Rise of Intermediaries:
  A new class of lobbyists, lawyers, and fixers now monetizes access to clemency—sometimes collecting huge sums from desperate petitioners.

  • "It's sort of like a feeding frenzy around the idea of pardons where people in Washington D.C.—lawyers and lobbyists—are just enriching themselves by promising access and pardons from this president."
    —Liz Oyer [15:54]

2. High-Profile, Controversial Pardons: Case Studies

• Savannah Chrisley & Family (Reality TV fraud):
  Chrisley’s parents, convicted of multi-million dollar fraud with over $10M owed to victims, were released after pardons, allegedly in exchange for campaign support—not restitution.

  • Savannah Chrisley: "For me, I am grateful for the pardons. It gave us our lives back... There was a podcast that came out that said I paid a million dollars for a pardon. That is 110% false." [02:41]

  • Oyer: "They committed multimillion dollar fraud... owed over $10 million in restitution to victims...that was wiped out by Trump’s pardon." [05:50]

• Paul Walsack (Healthcare Fraud):
  His wealthy mother paid $1 million for a private dinner with Trump; her son was pardoned before serving a day of his 18-month sentence.

  • "Very shortly after she attended that dinner, Trump granted her son a full pardon before he served even a day... That's very clearly transactional."
    —Liz Oyer [09:05]

• Changpeng Zhao 'CZ' (Binance Founder, Money Laundering):
  Brokered a $2 billion investment into Trump’s family crypto fund; received a pardon allowing him to return to business despite US national security concerns.

  • "He facilitated that infusion of billions... Trump's family directly benefited."
    —Liz Oyer [11:00]

• Trevor Milton (Nikola Motor Fraud):
  Pardoned after hiring a well-connected lawyer (brother to AG Pam Bondi) and donating $2 million to Trump's campaign; avoided $700 million in restitution.

  • "He got off the hook completely. Everything was wiped out by this pardon."
    —Liz Oyer [17:23]

• Juan Orlando Hernandez (Former President of Honduras, Narco-State):
  Pardoned after only a year into a 45-year sentence for drug trafficking.

  • "There’s really no way to explain why he did it, other than he felt a kinship... It makes no sense... other than that Trump saw a fellow leader who had ravaged his country."
    —Liz Oyer [22:28], [23:13]

3. Structural Dismantling of Clemency Guidelines

• Bypassing DOJ Standards:
  Traditional requirements—such as serving one's sentence, making restitution, and demonstrating rehabilitation—were ignored.

  • "Trump has thrown all of that out the window. He’s the only president I know who’s widely granted pardons before any time is served or restitution paid."
    —Liz Oyer [28:35]

• Pardons for Allies & Cabinet: Trump is positioned to pre-emptively pardon not only ex-officials and advisors (Hegseth, Bondi, Miller) but potentially himself, pending unresolved constitutional questions.

  • "It's not only possible but likely... He could broadly grant pardons to his whole administration, ICE agents, advisors. Would not surprise me if he's already written some and stashed them somewhere."
    —Liz Oyer [25:20]

• Random or Showy Pardons:
  Instances such as five NFL players (one deceased) being pardoned with no petition, possibly to gain favor with specific voting constituencies.

  • "He just decided to do it, probably for some cynical purpose involving NFL fans."
    —Liz Oyer [27:20]

4. The Political, Legal, and Moral Impact

• Restitution Ignored, Victims Left in the Cold:
  Over $1.5 billion in debts to victims and taxpayers erased via clemency, often with no victim consultation.

  • "He has forgiven over one and a half billion dollars in debts owed to victims and taxpayers; unprecedented."
    —Liz Oyer [30:13]

• Exacerbating Two-Tiered Justice:
  The gap widens between well-connected offenders and ordinary prisoners without political leverage.

  • "It really illustrates this two-tier system of justice that Trump has created."
    —Liz Oyer [07:37]

• Re-offense Among Pardon Recipients:
  Many January 6th pardonnees have been rearrested for serious new crimes, underscoring lack of vetting.

  • "Many...have ended up back in prison. There are dozens rearrested, some for serious crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children."
    —Liz Oyer [32:32]

5. Undermining Court Authority

• Open Defiance of Courts:
  The DOJ under Trump has repeatedly ignored federal court orders, leading to contempt sanctions and warnings about the potential loss of court privileges.
  • "This administration has literally declared itself to be at war with the courts... Violated 56 court orders in two months in NJ alone."
    —Liz Oyer [36:15]

6. The Biden Precedent & Its Fallout

• Hunter Biden’s Pardon:
  Oyer regrets the decision as delegitimizing clemency, though it is not comparable in scale or corruption to Trump, and it provides Trump political cover.
  • "It was quite damaging... If I’d been asked, I’d have said it would delegitimize the pardon power."
    —Liz Oyer [34:13]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "The pardon power is totally unrestrained. There's nothing Congress can do, nothing the courts can do to check it... I think pardons make him feel powerful."
  —Liz Oyer [20:55]

• "Pardons are an X-ray into the soul of the president. They tell you who they really are."
  —Liz Oyer, quoting Jeffrey Toobin [23:59]

• "So maybe she didn’t literally pay any money, but she gave Trump something of value and was rewarded with the pardon of her parents."
  —Liz Oyer (about Savannah Chrisley) [06:05]

• "We’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg on these corrupt financial transactions... Americans deserve to know who is enriching themselves by lobbying for pardons."
  —Liz Oyer [39:23]

Important Timestamps & Segments

• 03:28 — Oyer introduces the concept of a pardon economy and its dangers
• 05:50 — Chrisley case: transactional pardon for campaign support
• 09:05 — Paul Walsack case: $1M dinner leads to pardon
• 10:41 — CZ/Binance: $2B investment in Trump-linked crypto
• 14:22 — Alice Marie Johnson as "pardon czar"; marginalized by Trump’s impulse-driven process
• 17:23 — Trevor Milton: Nikola founder’s fraudulent scheme and access-bought pardon
• 22:28 — Hernandez/Honduras: Kleptocrat pardoned, ignoring drug policy contradictions
• 25:20 — Discussion on Trump pardoning himself and pre-emptive blanket pardons
• 27:20 — NFL pardons without request; transactional or symbolic politics
• 30:13 — $1.5B in unpaid restitution wiped out by Trump pardons
• 32:04 — Many January 6th pardonees rearrested for new crimes
• 34:13 — Hunter Biden's pardon, and how it fuelled Trump’s "everyone does it" narrative
• 36:15 — DOJ openly violating court orders, facing contempt for noncompliance
• 39:23 — What can be done: transparency reforms, congressional oversight, and midterm voting

Closing Thoughts & Recommendations

• Demand Transparency:
  Oyer calls for laws requiring disclosure of all financial transactions and relationships behind pardons, and for Congress to step up with oversight and accountability.

• Vote & Advocate:
  Victims and citizens are urged to scrutinize candidates’ positions on pardon abuses in the coming midterms [39:23].

• Follow Liz Oyer:
  For ongoing, meticulous updates on the “pardon economy,” Oyer’s Instagram is recommended [41:49].

Overall Tone

The episode’s tone is urgent, detailed, and at times incredulous, matching the gravity and surreal excesses of the cases described. Both speakers express a mixture of outrage, resignation, and a call to arms for greater public attention and governmental checks on the abuse of clemency.

Summary in a Sentence

A stark, eye-opening examination of how Donald Trump’s “pardon economy” has upended American justice, rewarding friends, donors, and loyalists while defrauded victims are left behind—and the rule of law is pushed to the brink.