GEOFF BENNETT: In the first months of his second term, President Trump has moved to pardon many who were considered to be loyal to him, from local Republican officials convicted of fraud to rioters at the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

AMNA NAWAZ: This evening, the president called the daughter of reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley to tell her that he plans to pardon her parents.

The pair are both serving yearslong prison sentences for bank and tax fraud.

Also today, The New York Times published new details about the pardon of a Florida businessman convicted of tax evasion.

Our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, has more.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: A report from The New York Times found that the Trump administration pardoned Paul Walczak after his mother, Elizabeth Fago, attended a $1 million-per-plate fund-raising dinner for the president's super PAC.

Three weeks after the dinner, the president signed the pardon, getting Walczak out of an 18-month prison sentence and a $4 million restitution payment.

To discuss this and more, I'm joined by Liz Oyer, former pardon attorney at the Department of Justice, who was fired from her post earlier this year.

Liz, thank you so much for joining the "News Hour."

LIZ OYER, Former DOJ Pardon Attorney: Thanks for having me, Laura.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So let's start with the recent revelations about the pardon Trump issued to Paul Walczak.

Walczak is a former nursing home executive.

He was convicted of cheating on taxes to finance his lavish lifestyle, including purchasing a $2 million yacht.

The sequence of events is the story here, because Walczak's mother was invited to and attended that $1 million-a-plate dinner at Mar-a-Lago, the president's club, and then Trump signed the full pardon for Walczak.

What signal does that send to other wealthy individuals who may be seeking a pardon from the president?

LIZ OYER: Well, one other thing that's so striking about the timeline here is, Walczak was just sentenced to prison days before he received that pardon from President Trump, and the judge who sentenced him said at that proceeding that he wanted to send the message that wealth is not a get-out-of-jail-free card.

And, for that reason, he sentenced Walczak to 18 months in prison, in addition to having to pay back the money that he owed by defrauding essentially taxes, by not paying taxes.

So this sends a message that accountability for the wealthy is not the same as accountability for those who don't have resources, and it creates essentially a two-tier system of justice for regular people and then for those who have political connections and wealth.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: And, yesterday, President Trump pardoned Virginia Sheriff Scott Jenkins, who was handing out deputy sheriff badges in exchange for money.

He was paid more than $75,000 in bribes in what the DOJ called a -- quote -- "cash-for-badges scheme."

Jenkins was also a big supporter of President Trump and expressed some anti-immigrant sentiments.

What's your takeaway from that pardon?

And is this normally how pardons work?

LIZ OYER: This is not at all how pardons normally work.

Pardons are normally reserved for people who show remorse for a crime they have been convicted of and who have actually served at least some and typically all of their sentence and have shown personal growth and rehabilitation during that time.

However, this administration appears to be using pardons in a completely different and new way, which is to reward people who demonstrate political loyalty to the administration.

And that is unprecedented.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: The present used his pardon authority in his first administration.

President Trump did when he pardoned his campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who had been convicted of bank and tax fraud.

And that's not the only Trump ally that was pardoned when he was president the first time.

Is there a pattern to Trump's pardons?

LIZ OYER: There is a pattern.

This is something that began in the first Trump administration, but has gotten worse under the new administration for two reasons.

One is that many of the pardons are happening in secret.

And the second thing that is really different is that Trump appears to be doing this just for wealthy, well-connected people.

In the first administration, there were some truly deserving individuals who were more along the lines of ordinary Americans who did benefit from pardons, alongside the politically connected and those who had personal relationships with President Trump.

But now the ordinary people seem to have been completely forgotten.

There are applications piled up at the Office of the Pardon Attorney from individuals who are incarcerated around the country, some of whom have been waiting years for their applications to be considered.

And those are being ignored in favor of the wealthy and well-connected.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: President Trump isn't the only president to use this power.

Former President Joe Biden used his pardon power, including to issue a full unconditional pardon of some of his family members, including his son Hunter Biden, who was convicted on federal gun charges and pled guilty to tax evasion.

Is Trump's use of the pardon power and former President Biden's use similar or different?

LIZ OYER: Well, Trump's use is very different.

I will say it's impossible to talk about Trump's use of the pardon power without acknowledging that some of the pardons that President Biden granted were ones that, frankly, raised questions about the legitimacy of the pardon power and why this power exists.

However, President Biden, for the most part, relied on the Department of Justice to make recommendations and granted clemency to people who did not have political connections, although there were some very notable and significant exceptions.

In the current administration, there is no path forward that we know of right now for ordinary people to be considered for clemency.

And the other thing that's really striking and shocking is that the president is granting clemency to individuals who owe tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars in restitution and fines and other financial penalties.

And it's never been done by any other president.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: I also want to talk to you about Ed Martin, the new pardon attorney who now holds the position you once held.

He fully supported the pardons of January 6 rioters, including those who were convicted of violently assaulting police.

And, recently, when Ed Martin was praising Trump's decision to pardon convicted Virginia Sheriff Scott Jenkins, Martin posted on X: "No MAGA left behind."

What message does that send and what does it mean that Martin is now in this position?

LIZ OYER: It sends a message that the pardon power is now being totally and thoroughly politicized, that it will be used as a benefit to those who are supporters of the president and not for those who do not express political loyalty.

That is really an unprecedented use of the pardon power.

And just the fact of Martin's appointment to the position of pardon attorney is really striking, because that is a position that historically has always been filled by a nonpolitical appointee.

At the end of the day, the president has plenary power under the Constitution to grant clemency to whomever he chooses, but it is important to have someone in a nonpolitical position providing that advice to the president about who should receive clemency and ensuring that individuals who do not have political connections can still have their applications considered.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Liz Oyer, former pardon attorney, thank you for your time.

LIZ OYER: Thank you for having me.