Balint says the pardon power 'was never supposed to be, if you have enough money, you get a pardon'
Becca BalintU.S. Representative from Vermont, in a video posted to her official Bluesky account
Rep. Becca Balint calls the reported Habba contract a pay-to-play pardon scheme and says the pardon power was never meant for whoever has enough money, in a video posted to her official Bluesky account on October 21, 2026.
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Video: Office of Rep. Becca Balint. Public domain (U.S. government work) (opens in a new tab)
Watch the full original video (opens in a new tab) (relevant passage: Full video, 1:09)
In a video about the Habba contract, Balint says the pardon power was meant to let a president forgive people who suffered a travesty of justice, not to let people with enough money obtain a pardon.
Responding to
Alina Habba's contract with the Herrera family's company was part of a pay-to-play arrangement to secure a pardon for Julio Herrera Velutini.
“It was intended to give the president some latitude to forgive people who had experienced a travesty of justice from the justice system. It was never supposed to be, if you have enough money, you get a pardon.”
Original post
Where this statement fits
Trump calls Alina Habba's $50 million deal with the family of a banker he pardoned 'not acceptable'; Habba denies any role in the pardon
On October 20, 2026, The New York Times reported that the family of Julio Herrera Velutini, a Venezuelan banker who had faced federal bribery charges and was seeking a pardon, guaranteed Alina Habba more than $50 million over four years to serve as general counsel of Concord Partners, a Florida company his daughter set up in October 2025. According to the Times, Habba finalized the deal while she was acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey and started on January 1, 2026, while she was a senior adviser at the Justice Department. Trump pardoned Herrera on January 15. Habba says her employment was vetted and disclosed to the Justice Department and had nothing to do with the pardon. On October 31, Trump told reporters the contract was 'totally obnoxious and outrageous' and not acceptable. Rep. Becca Balint calls the arrangement a pay-to-play pardon scheme, and Rep. Mike Levin says Americans deserve answers about what the deal was for.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Balint calls the reported arrangement a pay-to-play pardon scheme, says the framers did not intend the pardon power to allow grift and graft, and says Democrats are looking at ways to limit it.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Watch the clip from this source at the top of the page.
Before the quotation
Balint opens the video by describing the story as Habba orchestrating essentially a pay to play pardon scheme in which a billionaire paid her $50 million to secure a pardon, and says the framers never imagined the pardon power would be used to allow grift and graft.
After the quotation
She says changing the pardon power is not easy because it is set out in the Constitution, but that she and her colleagues are looking at every possible way to take away a power she says this president is abusing.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is Alina Habba's acceptance of a contract worth more than $50 million from the family of Julio Herrera Velutini, who sought and received a Trump pardon, while she held Justice Department posts. Balint describes the arrangement as a pay-to-play pardon scheme and says pardons were never meant to go to whoever has enough money, which condemns it.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Alina Habba, Donald Trump
More from this case
Read the full caseLevin says Americans 'deserve answers about what this deal was for'
“Every American deserves a justice system where the outcome doesn't depend on who you can pay. We deserve answers about what this deal was for, whether anyone profited from a presidential pardon, and why the president wanted money for himself.”Read statement
Trump calls Habba's $50 million contract 'totally obnoxious and outrageous'
“I thought it was totally obnoxious and outrageous, and it's not acceptable”Read statement
Habba says any suggestion her employment was tied to the Herrera pardon is 'false and defamatory'
“Any insinuation that my employment - all of which has been vetted and disclosed to the D.O.J. - had anything to do with securing a pardon is false and defamatory.”Read statement
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- Balint says the pardon power 'was never supposed to be, if you have enough money, you get a pardon'
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The Dispute Index. "Balint says the pardon power 'was never supposed to be, if you have enough money, you get a pardon'". First published: 2026-11-09. Last updated: 2026-11-09. https://disputeindex.com/events/8461-in-a-video-about-the-habba-contract-balint