Trump Pardons for Political Scammers: A Growing “Pay-to-Pardon” Landscape

Three convicted political fraudsters—Richard Zeitlin, William Tierney and Matt Tunstall—have formally petitioned former President Donald Trump for pardons or commutations. Their schemes used fraudulent political committees, charitable fronts and robocalls that impersonated Trump, swindling donors for more than $120 million (court records). Zeitlin received a 10-year sentence in 2024; Tierney was sentenced to two years in 2019; Tunstall was sentenced to 10 years in 2023. The White House confirmed that Tunstall’s request was denied on July 10, while the status of Zeitlin’s and Tierney’s petitions remains “pending” and “not currently tracked,” according to a White House official.

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Since taking office in 2025, Trump has used the pardon power far more expansively than previous administrations, notably granting clemency to a large number of defendants from a high-profile political event shortly after inauguration. Analysts describe the resulting environment as a “pay-to-pardon” market in which wealthy offenders hire lobbyists to press for clemency, diverging from the Justice Department’s traditional merit-based review.

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• Richard Zeitlin – former telemarketing operator; convicted of wire fraud, sentenced to 10 years in 2024.

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• William Tierney – operator of six sham political action committees; pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, sentenced to two years in 2019 with over $1 million restitution.

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• Matt Tunstall – ran robocalls impersonating Trump, raising $3.4 million by 2021; sentenced to 10 years in 2023.

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• 2019 – Tierney sentenced to two years.

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• 2023 – Tunstall sentenced to 10 years.

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• 2024 – Zeitlin sentenced to 10 years; files commutation request.

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• July 10 – Tunstall’s pardon request denied.

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• 2025 – Trump assumes the presidency and begins broad use of clemency authority.

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• Total alleged fraud losses: >$120 million.

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• Tunstall’s robocall scheme: $3.4 million raised, $738,000 diverted to himself.

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• Tierney’s restitution: >$1 million.

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• Zeitlin’s lobbying expense: $100,000 paid to the Vogel Group.

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A senior White House official described the clemency review as “thorough,” noting that the final decision rests with Trump. The administration has not provided a timeline for evaluating Zeitlin’s or Tierney’s petitions.

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Legal scholars argue that the lack of political affiliation among the three petitioners reduces their chances of clemency.

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• “President Trump has exercised his constitutional authority to issue pardons and commutations for a variety of individuals,” — Lauren Bis, White House spokeswoman

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• “Because specifically it’s Trump that they’re leveraging through their frauds to make money, that’s going to make it less probable that they’re going to get granted clemency,” — Mark Osler, pardon expert

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The White House confirmed that Tunstall’s request was denied but offered no comment on the pending petitions of Zeitlin and Tierney, stating the team “is not currently tracking” those applications. No official timeline exists for when—or if—Trump will act on the remaining requests, leaving the outcome uncertain for the petitioners and their supporters.

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