It’s one thing to watch a crisis manager spin a tale. We’ve watched Juda Engelmayer take the most indefensible characters—from white nationalists to corporate fraudsters—and dress them up in the Sunday best of “political persecution.”
But what happens when the people spinning the tales are the same people holding the keys to the jail cells?
The “Pardon Pipeline” isn’t just a theory anymore. It’s a functioning infrastructure of curated injustice. If you want to understand why 1,500 rioters walked free on Inauguration Day, or why a media mogul like Carlos Watson was plucked from the steps of a prison cell in March 2025, you have to look at the “revolving door” that has turned the Department of Justice into a concierge service for the connected.
The Architect and the Inside Man
For years, the Patriot Freedom Project (PFP) functioned as the primary lobby for the January 6 defendants. They didn’t just raise money; they ran a masterclass in DARVO—Denying the violence, Attacking the prosecutors, and Reversing the roles until the perpetrators were the “victims.”
The publicist for that campaign? Juda Engelmayer. But here is the stomach-turning part: the pipeline didn’t stay on the outside. In May 2025, Ed Martin, a former PFP board member and “Stop the Steal” activist, was officially installed as the U.S. Pardon Attorney.
The man who spent four years lobbying for these specific pardons is now the gatekeeper at the DOJ who officially recommends them. It’s the total capture of the rule of law.
The Prison Reform Rebrand
Once the J6 pardons were secured, the machine rebranded. PFP became Weaponization Watch, and suddenly, the goal was protecting a new roster of Engelmayer clients.
Enter OneTaste. The “orgasmic meditation” company was recently exposed in federal court for what it truly was: a forced labor conspiracy. Founders Nicole Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz were convicted after a trial that exposed a sickening culture of abuse and witness intimidation. To save a “sex cult” leader from a federal sentence, you simply use the pipeline.
The Circle of “Clemency”
The connections here are a loop of mutual benefit:
Topeka Sam, a celebrated prison reform advocate, is a co-leader of Women Over Dinner alongside the convicted Nicole Daedone.
Topeka Sam originally brought Alice Marie Johnson to the attention of the White House. Alice Marie Johnson is now the official Pardon Czar.
In March 2025, Topeka Sam used that direct line to the Czar to secure clemency for Carlos Watson—another Engelmayer client—hours before he was due to report to prison.
In May 2025, the same month Ed Martin took over the Pardon Office, Topeka Sam’s partner received a full and unconditional pardon.
A Concierge for the Convicted
This is the Pay to Say model in its final form. You hire Engelmayer to run the PR. You use reform non-profits like Unconditional Freedom to build an aura of sanctity. Then, you let your friends in the Pardon Office—the same people you sat on boards with—stamp the paperwork.
While thousands languish in prison for non-violent offenses, the “Predators” have a fast track to freedom. They don’t need a defense; they just need a publicist and an Inside Man.
The Pardon Pipeline is open for business. And as long as Juda Engelmayer is writing the script, justice isn’t about the truth—it’s just a brand waiting to be flipped.
