We know that Rudy Giuliani spelled out the going rate to his assistant, and as I mentioned last week, we also know the Times reported a similar case in 2021:
A onetime top adviser to the Trump campaign was paid $50,000 to help seek a pardon for John Kiriakou, a former C.I.A. officer convicted of illegally disclosing classified information, and agreed to a $50,000 bonus if the president granted it, according to a copy of an agreement.
And Mr. Kiriakou was separately told that Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani could help him secure a pardon for $2 million. Mr. Kiriakou rejected the offer, but an associate, fearing that Mr. Giuliani was illegally selling pardons, alerted the F.B.I. Mr. Giuliani challenged this characterization.
Yet no one seems to want to talk about it. I didn’t hear it on any cable shows, and I didn’t see any follow-ups in the Times or the Post. (Or anywhere else.)
So why aren’t they giving this story the attention it deserves? The reasons are never logical. Knowing the ways of the Beltway Village, they’re closing ranks to protect someone. But who? Trump?
