多个消息来源告诉美国广播公司新闻，司法部(Justice Department)对一项可能的计划进行了调查，该计划旨在游说特朗普政府赦免总统——这一消息在本周早些时候引起了关注——据称是由一名现已去世的加州房地产大亨代表一名因逃税而入狱的伯克利心理学家发起的。
这两个人物在华盛顿都不出名，但消息人士告诉美国广播公司新闻，据称由亿万富翁共和党捐赠者桑福德·迪勒(Sanford Diller)聘请来代表这位心理学家的律师是阿贝·洛威尔(Abbe Lowell)，他是华盛顿最著名和最有权力的律师之一。
洛厄尔，他最近代表贾里德·库什纳和伊万卡·特朗普他的律师告诉美国广播公司新闻，在调查俄罗斯干预2016年选举期间，据信他没有因在此事上的角色而受到调查。
洛厄尔没有回复美国广播公司新闻部寻求置评的电子邮件和电话信息。里德·温加滕(Reid Weingarten)是洛厄尔的朋友和律师，他证实洛厄尔在这件事上代表巴拉斯。他说没有行贿。
“阿贝开始相信有正当的理由认为这家伙不应该做时间。寻求宽恕是一条完全正常的路线，”温加滕说。“他追求的事实——没有错。”
消息人士告诉美国广播公司新闻，2017年初，迪勒试图在华盛顿找到一位人脉广泛的律师，他可以帮助他的朋友，一位名叫休·莱斯利·巴拉斯的伯克利心理学家获得赦免。2014年，当时70岁的巴拉斯因逃税和盗窃政府财产被判入狱30个月。
消息人士称，迪勒向埃利奥特·布罗迪(Elliott Broidy)寻求建议，埃利奥特·布罗迪是一名人脉广泛的特朗普筹款人，后来被卷入了自己的法律纠纷。布罗迪在10月份对违反外国游说法的指控认罪。他通过发言人拒绝置评。
布罗迪的律师威廉·伯克(William Burck)告诉美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)，布罗迪“应迪勒的要求，将他转介给一名华盛顿的律师，他可以在赦免申请上提供帮助。布罗迪先生把他送到阿贝·洛厄尔。”
伯克说，这是布罗迪的参与程度，他指出，这不应被解释为游说。他说布罗迪没有受到调查，“也没有被任何人指控任何不当行为”。
在布罗迪把迪勒介绍给洛厄尔后，消息人士说，接下来发生了什么还不清楚。温加滕说，他怀疑迪勒非常渴望看到洛厄尔为他的朋友争取赦免。
“我可以肯定的是，迪勒对这位医生有着深厚的感情，是一位要求苛刻的亿万富翁，”温加滕说。“这位旧金山的亿万富翁为竞选做出了巨大贡献，他对自己所拥有的财富有着不切实际的期望——但事实并非如此。”
迪勒于2018年去世，巴拉斯没有获得总统赦免。
根据在线监狱记录，Baras于2019年获释。美国广播公司新闻部联系巴拉斯的努力没有成功。
争取赦免的一个复杂方面是洛厄尔在不同时期戴的多顶帽子，他将代表巴拉斯和库什纳。洛厄尔还在后来针对布罗迪的案件中代表一名合作证人，这是一项长期调查的一部分。
温加滕说，洛厄尔从未就巴拉斯从宽处理一事与库什纳接触过。
“这和贾里德·库什纳没有关系，”洛厄尔的律师说。"他从来没有向贾里德·库什纳要过与这个客户有关的任何东西，也没有向任何其他与宽大处理有关的客户要过任何东西。"
周二公布的文件表明，司法部已经对争取赦免的努力进行了调查。华盛顿地区法院首席法官启封的文件显示，政府调查人员扣押了与调查有关的计算机、电话和其他设备。
法庭文件描述了对所谓的“秘密游说计划”的调查，该计划旨在联系白宫高级官员，为一名身份不明的个人争取“赦免或缓刑”。
一名DOJ官员在周二晚些时候的一份声明中表示:“没有一名政府官员是或目前是本文件中披露的调查对象或目标。”。
温加滕告诉美国广播公司新闻，他“完全有理由相信司法部对阿贝的所作所为没有丝毫异议。”
该文件指出，政府没收的一些有问题的来文是在去年夏末从一名身份不明的律师的办公室拿走的。尚不清楚这是否来自洛厄尔。
根据这些文件，政府在8月份寻求法院命令，“以便调查小组(能够)获取”某些通信，并与案件中的个人对质，以便采取“完成调查所需的调查步骤。”
唐纳德·特朗普总统本周早些时候在推特上说，关于所谓赦免计划的报道是“假消息”。
Federal probe into alleged bribery-for-pardon scheme involved now-deceased billionaire: Sources
The Justice Department investigation into a possible scheme to lobby the Trump Administration for a presidential pardon -- news of which garnered attention earlier this week -- was allegedly mounted by a now-deceased California real estate magnate on behalf of a Berkeley psychologist in prison for tax evasion, multiple sources tell ABC News.
Neither figure is well-known in Washington, but the lawyer allegedly hired by billionaire Republican donor Sanford Diller to represent the psychologist was Abbe Lowell, one of the most prominent and powerful D.C. attorneys, the sources told ABC News.
Lowell, who most recently representedJared KushnerandIvanka Trumpduring the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, is not believed to be under investigation for his role in the matter, his attorney told ABC News.
Lowell did not respond to email and phone messages from ABC News seeking comment. Reid Weingarten, a friend and attorney for Lowell, confirmed that Lowell represented Baras in the matter. He said no bribe was paid.
"Abbe came to believe there were legitimate arguments to be made that this guy shouldn't do time. Seeking clemency is a completely normal route," Weingarten said. "The fact that he pursued that -- there's nothing wrong with it."
The sources told ABC News that in early 2017, Diller was trying to identify a well-connected attorney in Washington who could help procure a pardon for his friend, a Berkeley psychologist named Hugh Leslie Baras. In 2014, Baras, then 70, was convicted of tax evasion and theft of government property, and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.
Sources said that Diller sought advice from Elliott Broidy, a well-connected Trump fundraiser who would later be swept into his own tangle of legal trouble. Broidy pleaded guilty in October to a charge of violating foreign lobbying laws. He declined through a spokesman to comment.
William Burck, an attorney for Broidy, told ABC News that Broidy was "asked by Mr. Diller to refer him to a D.C. lawyer who could assist on a clemency petition. Mr. Broidy sent him to Abbe Lowell."
Burck said that was the extent of Broidy's involvement, which he noted should not be construed as lobbying. He said Broidy is not under investigation and "has not been accused by anyone of any wrongdoing whatsoever."
After Broidy introduced Diller to Lowell, sources said, what happened next is unclear. Weingarten said he suspects Diller was very eager to see Lowell secure a pardon for his friend.
"What I'm sure of is that Diller had deep affection for the doctor and was a demanding billionaire," Weingarten said. "The billionaire in San Francisco made huge campaign contributions and had unrealistic expectations of what that meant in terms of the juice he had -- which was none."
Diller died in 2018 and Baras did not receive a presidential pardon.
Baras was released from prison in 2019, according to online prison records. Efforts by ABC News to reach Baras were unsuccessful.
A complicating aspect of the bid for a pardon was the multiple hats worn at various times by Lowell, who would have been representing Baras and Kushner. Lowell also represented a cooperating witness in the later case against Broidy, which was part of a long-running investigation.
Weingarten said Lowell never approached Kushner about the Baras clemency matter.
"There is no connection to Jared Kushner," Lowell's attorney said. "He never asked Jared Kushner for anything related to this client -- or for any other client having to do with clemency."
The documents made public Tuesday indicate the Justice Department had mounted an investigation into the effort to secure a pardon. Documents unsealed by the chief judge on the D.C. district court show government investigators seized computers, phones and other equipment related to the investigation.
The court documents describe an investigation into what was alleged to be a "secret lobbying scheme" to contact senior White House officials to secure "a pardon or reprieve of sentence" for an unidentified individual.
"No government official was or is currently a subject or target of the investigation disclosed in this filing," a DOJ official said in a statement late Tuesday.
Weingarten told ABC News he has "every reason to believe the Justice Department doesn't have the slightest quarrel with anything Abbe did."
The filing notes that some communications in question seized by the government were taken from the office of an unidentified lawyer near the end of this past summer. It is unclear if this was from Lowell.
According to the documents, the government in August sought a court order "so that the investigative team [could] access" certain communications and confront individuals in the case in order to take "investigative steps needed to complete its investigation."
President Donald Trump tweeted earlier this week that the reports about the alleged pardon scheme were "fake news."
