RFK Jr. and Lee Zeldin pressed by Democrats on possible roles in Trump pardons

Washington — Democratic lawmakers are pressing Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to explain what role they may have played in pardons granted by President Trump.

In letters sent Tuesday, the lawmakers asked Kennedy and Zeldin to answer questions by Oct. 20 so Congress can "better understand the extent to which influence and access have overridden the standard pardon review process." They were signed by Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Peter Welch of Vermont, as well as Reps. Dave Min of California and Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania. 

Democratic lawmakers have limited options to compel answers while they are in the minority, but capturing the House or the Senate in the midterm elections would give them subpoena power to pursue a broad range of investigations into the Trump administration. The letters highlight how questions about Mr. Trump's pardons — and the cottage industry of lobbying that has sprung up around them — are expected to be a top oversight area for Democrats if they win in November.

In September, a CBS News investigation shone a light on the new pardon economy and pardon brokers, and included video of lobbyists offering to "put pressure on the president" in exchange for a hefty fee from a convicted felon.

The Democrats' letters focus on Mr. Trump's pardons for Trevor Milton, an entrepreneur convicted in 2022 of lying to investors about his electric truck company Nikola, and Troy Lake, a Colorado diesel mechanic convicted in 2024 for violating the Clean Air Act, a law designed to control air pollution.

Mr. Trump's pardon for Milton in March 2025 came after the entrepreneur and his wife donated almost $2 million to a political committee aligned with Mr. Trump's reelection, as well as $750,000 to the Make America Healthy Again Alliance PAC aligned with Kennedy's "MAHA" agenda, according to Federal Election Commission records.

The oversight letter to Kennedy cited a Reuters report in June that said Kennedy advocated for Milton's pardon to the president. 

A source close to Kennedy, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, told CBS News they have heard the secretary privately say that he will not advocate for any pardons. The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Milton.

In a statement after his pardon, Milton thanked Mr. Trump for granting him "this sacred pardon of innocence." He broke the news of his pardon in an email to prosecutors that they considered cocky, CBS News reported.

Lawmakers are gearing up for investigations next Congress into "everybody along the assembly line of clemency for cash," Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said last month. Blumenthal is the ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which has broad authority to probe "inefficiency, mismanagement, and corruption in government." 

The congressional letter to Zeldin homed in on Mr. Trump's pardon for Lake, the diesel mechanic. Lake spent seven months in federal prison over his Clean Air Act violation. His pardon was supported by Republican Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis and helped along by Wyoming political consultant and lobbyist Jeff Daugherty.

In their letter, the Democratic lawmakers cited a statement from Lake's wife that appeared to credit Zeldin with intervening to get his pardon in front of the White House. 

Allies of Lake and Zeldin pushed back on any impropriety or that the EPA chief was involved in the matter. "It was a clean textbook pardon request," said Daugherty. "We followed the process. We submitted the application and there were no special favors."

A senior EPA official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly, disputed that Zeldin advocated for the Lake pardon. 

"His family reached out a few times but Zeldin did not make a recommendation or suggestion, other than just updating people internally on the facts of the case," the EPA official said.

The letters asked for any details about Kennedy and Zeldin's possible relationships with either Milton or Lake, and if the Trump administration officials advocated for any other pardons. 

"Congress has a compelling interest in ensuring that the constitutional pardon power is exercised with fairness and transparency," the Democrats wrote. 

This story published first on CBS News at 1:53 p.m. on Oct. 9, 2026.