Boosie Badazz is trying to get back part of the money he says he paid for help securing a presidential pardon that never arrived.
NOTUS reported that the rapper, whose legal name is Torence Hatch, paid $600,000 to political operatives Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman about three months before he was allegedly told a pardon from President Donald Trump had been secured.
TMZ reported that Boosie is now seeking a $300,000 refund after the pardon never materialized.
Boosie Says He Paid for Help Getting a Pardon
According to NOTUS, Boosie hired Wohl and Burkman’s firm, JM Burkman & Associates, to help him pursue clemency tied to his federal gun case.
The outlet reported that a contract it reviewed included a provision allowing Boosie to seek half of the $600,000 fee back if no pardon was delivered by the deadline. The contract reportedly listed Jan. 31, 2025, because of a typo, but both sides understood the intended deadline to be Jan. 31, 2026, according to Boosie’s lawyer.
Boosie’s team says that deadline passed without a pardon.
The Pardon Claim Reportedly Fell Apart Quickly
The dispute centers on what Boosie’s lawyer, Meghan Blanco, was allegedly told around New Year’s Day.
NOTUS reported that Burkman said the president had the pardon “in hand and is ready to sign.” Blanco said Burkman later claimed the pardon had been signed and was only waiting to be announced.
Blanco then tried to verify that claim. According to NOTUS, an assistant U.S. attorney checked the system and found no confirmation that a pardon had been signed. Blanco later said a White House aide told her no pardon application for Boosie had been seen.
Burkman and His Firm Deny the Refund Claim
JM Burkman & Associates disputed Boosie’s interpretation of the agreement. NOTUS reported that the firm said “no provision to return half the fee was ever actually agreed to.”
TMZ reported that Burkman also defended the firm’s work, saying Boosie had “no reason to be unhappy” and that the firm had worked hard on the pardon effort.
Burkman also told TMZ that Boosie’s attempt to obtain a pardon was made harder by an alleged arrest for a violent crime in Texas earlier this year.
The Report Names Bigger Political Claims
NOTUS reported that Wohl claimed several conservative figures had supported Boosie’s pardon effort, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, Nancy Mace, Andy Biggs and MAGA media figures.
Some of those people or their representatives denied the claims to NOTUS, while others declined to comment or did not respond. A spokesperson for Johnson’s office told NOTUS there was no merit to claims of a connection between the speaker and the people involved.
The outlet also reported that a White House official said Wohl and Burkman had no role in the clemency process and that the White House clemency team had “never heard from” them.
The Department of Justice announced in January that Hatch was sentenced in the federal case to three years of supervised release, 300 hours of community service and a $50,000 fine.