Inside the Trump-linked firm lobbying for pardons: How it landed a $500,000 client

In a significant move, a group of Trump’s former campaign and administration officials reportedly launched a federal lobbying practice when he returned to power. Mo Strategies, which has enrolled a cohort of institutional clients, is now expanding into the newly lucrative world of pardons.

The Trump-linked firm has signed on to lobby for Blessinger Legal, a law firm based in Northern Virginia for “immigration and pardon-related discussions.”

The engagement has already yielded the firm $500,000 in income, Marty Obst, president of Mo Strategies disclosed in an interview. The pardon work reflects how a cottage industry of influencers who advocate on presidential clemency has flourished during Mr. Trump’s second term.

Trump has reportedly pardoned a number of allies who were prosecuted as well as who recruited people linked to the president. Obst told CBS News, “We're one of the fastest-growing firms in D.C. and are helping them navigate the landscape and process.”

“What I've tried to do is provide guidance of what the process looks like, and what types of cases would appeal to this White House,” he added.

Obst, who is on the list of the lobbyists for Blessinger Legal on public disclosures, is a political consultant who held senior roles on Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns.

Meanwhile, lobbyist Robert Goad worked in the White House as a special assistant to the president on domestic policy, after shaping key education policies for Trump’s 2016 campaign.

As Trump’s administration implemented enforcement operations, Obst said Blessinger contacted him for guidance on new policies and to have him review clients' cases to analyze which ones were viable.

As per CBS analysis, the $500,000 income reported in a single period for Blessinger Legal showed one of the largest pardon-related disclosures in the US Senate’s database.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Schwartz pardon is among those being closely monitored by House and Senate Democrats as part of a broader investigation into clemency and reciprocal-deal seeking.