- 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’ claims.
- Boosie’s experience serves as a cautionary tale about scams involving alleged ‘exclusive access’ to the White House.
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 previously reported by BOSSIP. Let him tell it, he was flat-out scammed.
During a recent appearance on Rickey Smiley’s On The Spot, the Louisiana rapper didn’t 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.
“What happened was, some government lobbyists…they came to me like, ‘We can get a pardon. We can get in there and get a pardon from Trump.’ First I wasn’t 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.”
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’t secured by a certain deadline. That deadline came and went, and so did Boosie’s hopes of getting clemency.
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.
“I don’t know who you think I am, I am a powerful Black man!” he added, noting that he knew the lawsuit would gain national attention.
He also balked at people alleging that he’s “snitching” on the alleged scam artists, reiterating that this is a business matter.
“People talking about I’m snitching? Who the f***—y’all ignorant. Boy, you is ignorant! Either you igorant or you rode the short bus if you don’t understand this.”
The controversy only deepened after several conservative figures who were allegedly presented as supporters of Boosie’s 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.
Now Boosie is attempting to recover at least part of the money through arbitration while the lobbyists reportedly dispute that they’re obligated to refund him.
This is easily one of hip-hop’s 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 “exclusive access” to the White House is actually holding the keys. Also, scammers exist in all shapes and colors; buyer beware!