{"id":30352,"date":"2026-08-06T22:52:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T17:52:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=30352"},"modified":"2026-08-06T22:52:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T17:52:27","slug":"boosie-tells-rickey-smiley-about-600000-pardon-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=30352","title":{"rendered":"Boosie tells Rickey Smiley about $600,000 Pardon Scam"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<section class=\"ione-key-points\">\n<ul>\n<li>Boosie paid $600K to lobbyists who promised to secure a presidential pardon, but failed to deliver.<\/li>\n<li>Conservative figures distanced themselves from the pardon effort, casting doubt on the lobbyists&#8217; claims.<\/li>\n<li>Boosie&#8217;s experience serves as a cautionary tale about scams involving alleged &#8216;exclusive access&#8217; to the White House.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/bossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2026\/08\/17860369173569.jpg?w=1024&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"The Millennium Tour 2025 - Louisville, KY\" class=\"wp-image-4612596\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2026\/08\/17860369173569.jpg?strip=all&amp;quality=80 1024w, https:\/\/bossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2026\/08\/17860369173569.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 300w, https:\/\/bossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2026\/08\/17860369173569.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 768w, https:\/\/bossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2026\/08\/17860369173569.jpg?resize=180%2C120&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 180w, https:\/\/bossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2026\/08\/17860369173569.jpg?resize=150%2C100&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 150w, https:\/\/bossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2026\/08\/17860369173569.jpg?resize=75%2C50&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 75w, https:\/\/bossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2026\/08\/17860369173569.jpg?resize=720%2C480&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 720w, https:\/\/bossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2026\/08\/17860369173569.jpg?resize=900%2C599&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 900w, https:\/\/bossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2026\/08\/17860369173569.jpg?resize=450%2C300&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 450w, https:\/\/bossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2026\/08\/17860369173569.jpg?resize=600%2C400&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 600w, https:\/\/bossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2026\/08\/17860369173569.jpg?resize=250%2C167&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 250w, https:\/\/bossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2026\/08\/17860369173569.jpg?resize=221%2C147&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 221w, https:\/\/bossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2026\/08\/17860369173569.jpg?resize=245%2C163&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 245w, https:\/\/bossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2026\/08\/17860369173569.jpg?resize=129%2C86&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 129w, https:\/\/bossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2026\/08\/17860369173569.jpg?resize=144%2C96&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 144w, https:\/\/bossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2026\/08\/17860369173569.jpg?resize=50%2C33&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: Stephen J. Cohen \/ Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Boosie Badazz is finally breaking his silence about the jaw-dropping $600,000 he says disappeared during his failed quest for a presidential pardon as <a href=\"https:\/\/bossip.com\/4602296\/boosie-files-sues-republicans-who-promised-trump-pardon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">previously reported by BOSSIP<\/a>. Let him tell it, he was flat-out scammed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During a recent appearance on <em><a href=\"https:\/\/bossip.com\/4523712\/rickey-smiley-on-the-spot-podcast-urban-one\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rickey Smiley\u2019s On The Spot<\/a><\/em>, the Louisiana rapper didn\u2019t mince words while recounting how he allegedly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to people who claimed they could help secure a pardon from then-President Donald Trump. Boosie revealed he was promised political connections that would make his federal gun conviction disappear, but instead says he was left with an empty wallet and no pardon to show for it.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat happened was, some government lobbyists\u2026they came to me like, \u2018We can get a pardon. We can get in there and get a pardon from Trump.\u2019 First I wasn\u2019t going to entertain it, but I was under pressure. The federal judge had just dropped my case; three weeks later they charged me again. They added a charge and said I was an addict around a gun.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Boosie decided to accept the offer from conservative operatives Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman to spearhead the effort. According to the rapper, he paid $600,000 under an agreement that included a provision requiring a $300,000 refund if a pardon wasn\u2019t secured by a certain deadline. That deadline came and went, and so did Boosie\u2019s hopes of getting clemency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking openly with Smiley, Boosie admitted the experience taught him a painful lesson about trusting people who claim to have powerful political connections. The rapper explained that he genuinely believed the deal was legitimate and expected the promised results. Instead, he says he was taken advantage of while trying to clear his name.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The controversy only deepened after several conservative figures who were allegedly presented as supporters of Boosie\u2019s pardon effort publicly distanced themselves from the situation, saying they had little or nothing to do with any push for clemency. Those denials have fueled questions about whether the rapper was sold influence that never actually existed.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"\/>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now Boosie is attempting to recover at least part of the money through arbitration while the lobbyists reportedly dispute that they\u2019re obligated to refund him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This easily one of hip-hop\u2019s strangest legal dramas. Boosie went from believing he had a direct path to presidential clemency to publicly recounting how he says he got played out of more than half a million dollars. If nothing else, his story should serve as a cautionary tale that not everyone selling \u201cexclusive access\u201d to the White House is actually holding the keys. Also, scammers exist in all shapes and colors, buyer beware!<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ione-ve-expanded\" class=\"ione-ve\">\n<\/aside><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Boosie paid $600K to lobbyists who promised to secure a presidential pardon, but failed to deliver. Conservative figures distanced themselves from the pardon effort, casting doubt on the lobbyists&#8217; claims. Boosie&#8217;s experience serves as a cautionary tale about scams involving alleged &#8216;exclusive access&#8217; to the White House. Source: Stephen J. Cohen \/ Getty Boosie Badazz&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/bossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2026\/08\/17860369173569.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1024&crop=0,0,100,682px","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}