How President Trump is changing the pardon process, according to former pardon attorney

President Trump has changed the pardon process in his second term to reward the wealthy and well-connected, according to former Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer.  

"All of the traditional rules and procedures pertaining to pardons have been thrown out the window," Oyer said in an interview with 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley. "This administration appears to be working around the Justice Department rather than with the Justice Department to vet and review applications for pardons." 

Oyer oversaw pardon applications at the Justice Department from 2022 until this past spring. She said the Justice Department standards and requirements are being overlooked in the president's second administration. 

Traditionally, people have applied for clemency by filing petitions through the Office of the Pardon Attorney in the Justice Department. There, some of the longstanding regulations in place for assessing pardon applications include evaluating whether an individual had demonstrated good conduct for a lengthy period of time following their conviction. People who apply for pardons typically have to be out of prison for at least five years and show that they've behaved well and taken responsibility for their actions.

According to Oyer, the Pardon Attorney's office would seek the views of U.S. Attorneys offices who had prosecuted these cases, the judges who had imposed the sentences, and any victims of the crime. Once a candidate appeared to meet the criteria for a pardon, the office then conducted a thorough background investigation through the FBI. According to Oyer, this was "to ensure that they were someone who was truly deserving and who could safely contribute to their community if they were granted the relief that a pardon provides."

But after Trump's second inauguration, Oyer said, the longstanding practices around clemency changed.

"I understood that clemency was going to be conducted entirely out of the White House without input from the Office of the Pardon Attorney," Oyer said. "This was a departure from over 100 years of practice." 

Oyer was fired in March after she says she opposed restoring gun rights to actor and Trump supporter Mel Gibson, who had been convicted of domestic battery. She has since become a vocal critic of the Trump administration. The Office of the Pardon Attorney, which had traditionally been staffed by nonpolitical appointees, is now run by Ed Martin, an ally of Mr. Trump.

In a statement to 60 Minutes, a Department of Justice spokesperson wrote: 

"The statements made by a disgruntled former employee are categorically false. The Office of the Pardon Attorney continues to serve a key role in assisting the President with exercising his constitutional authority to grant pardons and commutations. Applications are received and reviewed by the Office of the Pardon Attorney which provides recommendations to the President that are consistent, unbiased, and uphold the rule of law. There has been no departure from this long-standing process."