DiscoverThe Al Franken PodcastLawyer Liz Oyer on Trump’s Corrupt Pardons
Lawyer Liz Oyer on Trump’s Corrupt Pardons

Lawyer Liz Oyer on Trump’s Corrupt Pardons

Update: 2025-11-23
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In Donald Trump's second term, we've seen a flurry of pardons and commutations. Of course, every President is granted the pardon power, but with this administration, pardons often seem to have a price tag. We're joined by Liz Oyer, former US pardon attorney (appointed by Biden and fired by Trump), to discuss some of the shadier pardons doled out during Trump's second term (so far). 



Oyer lays out how several of Trump’s pardons are motivated by money, loyalty, and retribution. Of course, we discuss the blanket pardon of the January 6th rioters, but we also examine the pardon of cryptocurrency-crook Changpeng Zhao, who Oyer says "might be the most corrupt pardon in American history."



We dig into Trump's current pardon attorney, Ed Martin, a political operative who believes in "No MAGA left behind." Even Republicans found him too extreme to be a US Attorney, so Trump put him in charge of pardons and commutations. 



Plus, we get Oyer's unfiltered opinion of the Ghislane Maxwell/Jeffrey Epstein saga AND Hunter Biden's pardon at the end of Joe Biden's term. 



READ Liz Oyer's Substack at https://www.lawyeroyer.com/



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Lawyer Liz Oyer on Trump’s Corrupt Pardons

Lawyer Liz Oyer on Trump’s Corrupt Pardons

The Al Franken Podcast