The Nashville Law Firm Securing White House Pardons ⁠13%

By Eli Motycka⁠67%

8/5/2026, 3:00:00 AM

BS Summary: This article contains 30 faulty reasoning types, including Hasty Generalization, Biased Writer Voice, and Confirmation Bias, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 20.8% saturation with 237 hits. Analysis detected 1,818 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,141 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 23.5% and a BS Rank of ⁠13% (24,036 of 27,491 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 87.40% of the article peer group.

At noon sharp on Jan. 20, 2021, with COVID deaths peaking in the United States and Tom Brady leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers through the NFL playoffs, millions celebrated Joe Biden’s ascendance to the White House. 
The union had weathered Trump’s four years in office and his followers’ haphazard, violent coup attempt at the U.S. 
Capitol, and welcomed a new beginning. 
One Kentuckian was celebrating for different reasons. 
His full name — Johnny D. 
Phillips Jr. — was on the list of 143 presidential pardons inked during the waning hours of Trump’s first term. 
(One more, Al Pirro, a Manhattan fraudster and ex-husband of DOJ prosecutor Jeanine Pirro, came the morning of Biden’s inauguration day.) 
A federal judge in East Tennessee had convicted Phillips four years prior for conning more than a hundred investors out of $14 million with a coal mining scheme. 
“Mr. 
Phillips is known as an upstanding citizen and is a valued member of his community,” the Trump White House wrote at the time, citing support from Kentucky’s U.S. 
Sen. 
Rand Paul. 
“He dedicates his time to his three young children and is an advocate for Type 1 diabetes research.” 
Phillips’ pardon was a milestone for Nashville attorney Alex Little too. 
He had just won an 11th-hour presidential pardon for his client from a disorganized and chaotic White House, a first taste of what would soon become Little’s calling card: using legal training, office politics, media and relationships to divine White House palace intrigue. 
It’s a presumably lucrative business pivot by Little, highlighted by the Scene in 2018 for defending survivors of sexual harassment and assault in the music industry. 
(His clients include Kesha during her highly publicized dispute with producer Dr. 
Luke.) 
Since founding Litson PLLC in 2024 with Zachary Lawson — the firm’s name combines the attorneys’ surnames — Little has become known nationally for his success dealing with the White House. 
Litson has since stocked up on lawyers with Justice Department experience, like former federal prosecutors Edward Canter and Brent Hannafan, who know how to beat the FBI. 
Spotlight cases have followed. 
Litson is defending Brian Cole Jr., the 31-year-old Black man from Virginia accused of planting pipe bombs at the DNC and RNC on Jan. 5, 2021, as well as David Taylor, the Kingdom of God Global Vision pastor charged with forced labor and money laundering in Detroit. 
Phillips’ clemency was the first of many golden tickets won by the Music Row attorney. 
Little has gone on to secure pardons for former Tennessee state Sen. 
Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) and reality TV show stars Todd and Julie Chrisley. 
Success caught the eyes of the wealthy, well-connected and federally convicted, leading to a business boom. 
Soon his client sheet included one of D.C.’s biggest busts: U.S. 
Sen. 
Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, and his wife Nadine, convicted in 2025 of a bribery and foreign influence scheme tying Menendez to the Egyptian and Qatari governments. 
Little and Litson turned down the Scene’s requests for an interview and declined to comment about the pardon process. 
Many journalists and Trump critics speculate that winning the president’s constitutionally endowed get-out-of-jail-free card involves a significant financial transaction. 
Though there is no direct evidence Trump or any member of his family has solicited or received fees for pardons, lawyers involved make out handsomely. 
Little does not price pardon services hourly, like a typical attorney, instead charging an expensive fee for up-front consulting and legal advice. 
Two other well-connected pardon attorneys, lobbyist and self-described D.C. fixer Mike Davis and White House adviser Brett Tolman, collect millions for their work. 
Upon Trump’s signature, attorneys’ “success fees” can also mean seven-figure paydays. 
Trump himself has made historic profits from the Oval Office, disclosing some $2.2 billion in income earned last year — owed in large part to loosely regulated cryptocoin ventures and real estate deals across the globe. 
But when it comes to pardons, he reaps benefits of another sort. 
Many of his chosen grantees earn Trump social or political favors from individuals or key constituencies. 
Immediately after taking office in 2025, Trump signed for several anti-abortion activists, including three Tennesseans who were convicted in 2021 for obstructing a Mt. 
Juliet abortion clinic — his own type of virtue signal. 
Trump also has clearly established a pattern of using pardon power to free people he sees as having suffered political persecution, a line of argument uniquely available to convicted elected officials or other partisan individuals. 
Little’s success lies in intentionally crafting cases for his clients that appeal to Trump’s proven predilections, finding a connection to his inner circle or otherwise getting his attention. 
Phillips, for one, had a loose connection to a White House staffer going back to their college days. 
Kelsey was connected to U.S. 
Sen. 
Mitch McConnell and Lexington political elite via his wife, Ingram Industries lobbyist Amanda Bunning Kelsey, granddaughter of Kentucky’s longtime U.S. 
Rep. and Sen. 
Jim Bunning. 
The Chrisleys, a popular real estate reality show couple, required a more media-savvy strategy. 
“The biggest issue here was, it’s very clear the case would never have happened if they were not celebrities,” Little told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on May 29, 2025, two days after winning the Chrisleys’ pardons. 
“The Chrisleys become celebrities and all of a sudden the FBI picks up the case again. 
I think that sort of targeting, based on who you are publicly, is what this president’s made very clear he doesn’t want to condone.” 
Vermont’s Democratic U.S. 
Sen. 
Peter Welch and two California congressmen have since probed Todd Chrisley’s pardon and several others they say may have been obtained “through intermediaries, financial contributions, or other forms of influence,” per a letter sent May 7, 2026. 
A new “advocacy” website for North Carolina businessman Greg Lindberg — a current Little client convicted of fraud and bribery in 2020 and 2024 — praises Trump and casts Lindberg’s misfortune as personal retribution from the scorned state insurance commissioner, inviting readers to “join the movement” for Lindberg’s freedom. 
Court records also tie Little to high-profile Los Angeles financier Kenneth Leech II and Steve A. 
McBee, a reality show star convicted of insurance fraud and friend of the Chrisleys. 
McBee already has a pending White House pardon. 
Little has not formally filed for the Menendez pardons yet, though both husband and wife are currently in federal custody. 
With White House politics looking increasingly like a medieval royal court, winning these cases requires trained lawyers to comprehend a bespoke justice system tried and judged by an audience of one. 
Little has apparently figured that out. 
Like recently shuttered heavy-hitter firm Neal & Harwell, which enjoyed close White House ties in the 1970s and 1980s through founding partner James Neal, Litson has become a major white-collar player with one foot in D.C. and another in Nashville. 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 11.6%Eli Motycka: 3.4%Nashville Scene: 1.3%Confirmation Bias11.6%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.2%Nashville Scene: 0.8%Anchoring Bias0.0%This article: 7.5%Eli Motycka: 2.2%Nashville Scene: 2.2%Availability Heuristic7.5%This article: 3.5%Eli Motycka: 0.4%Nashville Scene: 1.2%Representativeness Heuristic3.5%This article: 2.7%Eli Motycka: 2.2%Nashville Scene: 0.6%Hindsight Bias2.7%This article: 2.9%Eli Motycka: 2.2%Nashville Scene: 1.0%Overconfidence Bias2.9%This article: 5.7%Eli Motycka: 5.6%Nashville Scene: 3.6%Framing Effect5.7%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.4%Nashville Scene: 0.1%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.2%Nashville Scene: 0.5%Status Quo Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.0%Nashville Scene: 0.0%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 2.3%Eli Motycka: 3.8%Nashville Scene: 2.4%Optimism Bias2.3%This article: 2.2%Eli Motycka: 1.1%Nashville Scene: 0.5%Pessimism Bias2.2%This article: 20.8%Eli Motycka: 8.1%Nashville Scene: 3.5%Negativity Bias20.8%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.7%Nashville Scene: 0.9%Self-Serving Bias0.0%This article: 3.9%Eli Motycka: 0.6%Nashville Scene: 0.3%Fundamental Attribution Error3.9%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.0%Nashville Scene: 0.0%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 1.1%Nashville Scene: 0.6%In-Group Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.0%Nashville Scene: 0.4%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 5.2%Eli Motycka: 4.0%Nashville Scene: 3.4%Halo Effect5.2%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.2%Nashville Scene: 0.2%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.0%Nashville Scene: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 2.1%Eli Motycka: 0.9%Nashville Scene: 1.1%Recency Bias2.1%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.0%Nashville Scene: 0.6%Primacy Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.6%Nashville Scene: 0.1%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 3.1%Eli Motycka: 2.8%Nashville Scene: 0.8%Ad Hominem3.1%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.0%Nashville Scene: 0.0%Straw Man0.0%This article: 4.8%Eli Motycka: 0.1%Nashville Scene: 1.5%Appeal to Authority4.8%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.6%Nashville Scene: 0.8%False Dilemma0.0%This article: 2.7%Eli Motycka: 0.7%Nashville Scene: 0.2%Slippery Slope2.7%This article: 2.5%Eli Motycka: 0.0%Nashville Scene: 0.1%Circular Reasoning2.5%This article: 14.7%Eli Motycka: 6.0%Nashville Scene: 4.0%Hasty Generalization14.7%This article: 6.7%Eli Motycka: 1.1%Nashville Scene: 0.4%Red Herring6.7%This article: 1.4%Eli Motycka: 0.6%Nashville Scene: 0.3%Bandwagon1.4%This article: 4.6%Eli Motycka: 0.7%Nashville Scene: 2.2%Appeal to Emotion4.6%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.0%Nashville Scene: 0.2%Begging the Question0.0%This article: 4.6%Eli Motycka: 1.9%Nashville Scene: 1.7%Post Hoc (False Cause)4.6%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.0%Nashville Scene: 0.0%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 1.7%Eli Motycka: 0.3%Nashville Scene: 0.3%Burden of Proof1.7%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.4%Nashville Scene: 0.2%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 3.5%Eli Motycka: 0.5%Nashville Scene: 0.4%Composition/Division3.5%This article: 4.5%Eli Motycka: 0.0%Nashville Scene: 1.7%Anecdotal4.5%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.0%Nashville Scene: 0.0%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 4.6%Eli Motycka: 0.3%Nashville Scene: 0.8%Ambiguity (Equivocation)4.6%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.0%Nashville Scene: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.3%Nashville Scene: 0.2%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 3.2%Eli Motycka: 0.0%Nashville Scene: 0.0%Personal Incredulity3.2%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.4%Nashville Scene: 0.1%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.0%Nashville Scene: 0.3%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.0%Nashville Scene: 0.4%Unattributed Quote0.0%This article: 2.5%Eli Motycka: 0.2%Nashville Scene: 0.2%Quote-first Misdirection2.5%This article: 12.5%Eli Motycka: 11.7%Nashville Scene: 7.4%Biased Writer Voice12.5%This article: 4.0%Eli Motycka: 0.0%Nashville Scene: 0.4%Indoctrination4.0%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.7%Nashville Scene: 0.5%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Eli Motycka: 0.0%Nashville Scene: 0.1%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 7.5%Eli Motycka: 0.0%Nashville Scene: 0.5%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…7.5%

1141 words analyzed.

Speakers

8speakers11%attributed speech1,016writer words
Selected voice

Alex Little

100%flagged-word coverage
75 attributed words60% of attributed speech75% writer coverage
0%17.5%35.0%Indoctrination+29.8 ptsWriter: 2.2%Alex Little: 32.0%32.0%Biased Writer Voice-14.1 ptsWriter: 14.1%Alex Little: 0.0%0.0%Attempt to Sell a Product -8.5 ptsWriter: 8.5%Alex Little: 0.0%0.0%Quote-first Misdirection-2.8 ptsWriter: 2.8%Alex Little: 0.0%0.0%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.