2026年4月29日 / 美国东部时间早上5:00 / 哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）新闻
据哥伦比亚广播公司新闻通过采访和文件获悉，旧金山一家被检察官比作邪教性组织的公司正在展开游说活动，拉拢特朗普总统的盟友，以期为其两名已定罪的高管寻求赦免。
OneTaste这家自称“高潮冥想”的公司，正在为其前首席执行官兼创始人妮可·迪达隆（Nicole Daedone）以及前销售主管雷切尔·彻维茨（Rachel Cherwitz）寻求宽大处理。今年3月下旬，一名联邦法官判处两人入狱——迪达隆九年，彻维茨六年以上——两人于2025年因强迫劳动共谋罪被判有罪。
根据联邦记录，OneTaste已按照传统程序向司法部提交了针对迪达隆和彻维茨的赦免申请。
但该公司还采用了特朗普第二任期内一种更不正式的赦免程序中的复杂幕后渠道流程。这项行动包括通过接触律师、政治幕僚、媒体人士以及特朗普圈子内的其他人，争取总统盟友的支持——这是自去年1月以来其他人用来获得宽大处理的一套策略的一部分。
妮可·迪达隆，OneTaste创始人兼前首席执行官（左中），以及雷切尔·彻维茨，OneTaste前销售主管，于2025年5月6日离开纽约布鲁克林区的联邦法院。Yuki Iwamura / 彭博社 via 盖蒂图片社
纽约大学法学教授、行政赦免专家雷切尔·巴科（Rachel Barkow）表示，OneTaste向“让美国再次伟大”（MAGA）阵营的盟友和影响者展开游说的做法，表明寻求赦免者越来越多地通过非正式渠道来吸引总统的注意。
“这种规模是我前所未见的，”巴科告诉CBS新闻。“对于其他没有这些人脉的人来说，我们似乎没有一个运转正常的赦免程序。”
据检察官称，迪达隆和彻维茨背后有一个虐待性计划，胁迫员工从事具有创伤性和侮辱性的工作——包括性行为——且报酬微薄甚至无薪。被告的律师辩称，他们经营的是一个女性赋权企业，OneTaste的成员随时都可以离开该组织。两人已提起上诉。
牵头这项赦免游说活动的是知名辩护律师艾伦·德肖维茨（Alan Dershowitz），他在特朗普第一任期内利用自己与特朗普的接触机会，促成了多起宽大处理行动。他在接受CBS新闻采访时表示，他认为“起诉书范围过于宽泛，实际上危及了宗教仪式和宗教自由”。
在特朗普第二任期内，特朗普已向多名面临起诉的盟友以及雇佣了能为其牵线搭桥赦免或减刑的人士的罪犯授予了宽大处理。
白宫新闻发言人卡罗琳·利夫特（Karoline Leavitt）表示，任何“花钱游说赦免的人都是在愚蠢地浪费金钱”，而且本届政府有“一套健全的赦免审查程序，包括白宫法律顾问办公室、司法部，最终由总统本人作为最终决策者”。
德肖维茨表示，OneTaste曾付费聘请他为该公司的法律上诉提供咨询，他后来又无偿为该公司提供帮助，因为他支持其事业。
据一位熟悉游说活动的消息人士透露，OneTaste还曾接触曾面临联邦人口贩运调查且未被起诉的佛罗里达州前共和党国会议员马特·盖兹（Matt Gaetz）。盖兹在其“One America News”节目中主持了一档关于此案的环节，称“没有人被迫、被限制或以其他方式受到威胁继续参与OneTaste的活动”。盖兹未回应置评请求。
OneTaste争取的另一位特朗普盟友是政治顾问罗杰·斯通（Roger Stone），斯通在其播客中谈到了此案。斯通告诉CBS新闻，他认为迪达隆和彻维茨的定罪“确实引发了严重的宪法问题”。
据OneTaste的知情人士透露，OneTaste还接触了史蒂夫·班农（Steve Bannon）以及MAGA影响者劳拉·洛莫尔（Laura Loomer）。班农拒绝就OneTaste一事置评。洛莫尔表示，她不参与赦免相关工作，也不记得有过这次接触。“我接到太多电话了，”洛莫尔告诉CBS新闻。
为了推进此案，OneTaste此前还聘请了另一位与MAGA有关联的律师亚当·卡茨（Adam Katz）。他告诉CBS新闻，他在定罪前曾向司法部发送过一封信，要求对检方的行为进行审查。卡茨在特朗普第二任期内参与过多起赦免案件，还曾代表鲁迪·朱利安尼（Rudy Giuliani）处理一起诽谤案，该案涉及朱利安尼为推翻特朗普在2020年大选中的失利所做的努力。
现任OneTaste首席执行官安朱利·艾尔（Anjuli Ayer）表示，迪达隆和彻维茨之所以获得支持，是因为检方的“不公正”。
“你会问为什么这么多人会关注并支持此事，”艾尔告诉CBS新闻。“不是为了钱，而是因为一个简单直白的事实：这里存在司法公正问题。”
“接触有权势的人脉”
OneTaste还采取了其他措施来讨好华盛顿的共和党人。
该公司前员工马库斯·拉特纳西卡姆（Marcus Ratnathicam）在特朗普就职前通过社交媒体联系了迈克·豪厄尔（Mike Howell）——现为美国赦免律师埃德·马丁（Ed Martin）的亲密盟友。此后，经营着一家调查所谓政府武器化的非营利组织“监督项目”的豪厄尔，已成为迪达隆和彻维茨的公开支持者。他的团队在1月发布了一份报告，重点介绍了此案。
据知情人士透露，拉特纳西卡姆还曾向由俄亥俄州共和党众议员吉姆·乔丹（Jim Jordan）领导的众议院司法委员会成员介绍过OneTaste一案。他还与智库卡托研究所以及美国公民自由联盟讨论过此案。拉特纳西卡姆拒绝接受采访。
豪厄尔告诉CBS新闻，司法部和特朗普应该“采取纠正措施”重新审查OneTaste一案，以确保定罪不会为未来更多团体成为打击目标开创先例。OneTaste及其盟友辩称，公司成员是自愿参与的，并同意发生性行为。
豪厄尔表示，OneTaste和拉特纳西卡姆都没有向他的非营利组织捐款，他补充道，自己不会公开捐赠者记录，“也不会泄露处于政府瞄准范围内的人员的私人信息”。
OneTaste还在辛西娅·休斯（Cynthia Hughes）那里找到了一位盟友，她是马丁的密友，在审查赦免决定方面发挥着核心作用。
休斯经营着一家名为“爱国者自由项目”的非营利组织，该组织称OneTaste一案是出于政治动机。根据马丁的政府财务披露文件，马丁曾在她的组织董事会任职，并从该组织领取过津贴。
在其网站的一篇博客文章中，“爱国者自由项目”的“武器化观察”栏目称，OneTaste一案“是政府的武器化行为，保守派认识到这种法律理论接下来会针对他们”。这篇文章称迪达隆和彻维茨“因经营一家基于自愿结合的成功性健康企业而成为目标”，还引用了德肖维茨和斯通对此案的评论。
休斯的团队还于1月在YouTube上发布了一段视频，链接为https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7xVSCaE_tk，内容是现任OneTaste首席执行官艾尔谈论检控一事——同时向MAGA阵营示好。“我们秉承了总统的座右铭‘战斗，战斗，再战斗’，并身体力行，”艾尔说。“但这不足以威慑这些检察官。”
休斯在赦免程序方面有前科——在特朗普赦免或减刑2021年国会山骚乱事件的涉案人员之前，她就为1月6日骚乱的被告提供过支持。
她的组织还声称帮助去年促成了特朗普对迈克尔·麦克马洪（Michael McMahon）的赦免，麦克马洪是一名前警察，因充当非法外国代理人和跟踪而被定罪。女演员玛莎·伯恩（Martha Byrne）是麦克马洪的妻子，她告诉CBS新闻，她是在休斯在新泽西州贝德明斯特的特朗普国家高尔夫俱乐部举办的活动上被介绍给马丁的。
“辛西娅是一位了不起的支持者和朋友，”伯恩说。“我支持她的工作。”
据CBS新闻审查的访客记录显示，自去年以来，休斯至少参加了七次与马丁和其他官员在赦免办公室的会议。记录显示，艾尔和拉特纳西卡姆分别在2026年1月和2月参加了其中两次会议。
OneTaste的一位发言人告诉CBS新闻，该公司没有向休斯支付报酬，也没有向“爱国者自由项目”捐款。
尽管如此，OneTaste的内部人士表示，休斯因与赦免律师关系密切而接手迪达隆和彻维茨的事业，这让他们备受鼓舞。
“众所周知，辛西娅有权接触有权势的人脉，任何能打开门路的人都是值得结交的盟友，这一点并不夸张，”一位与OneTaste关系密切的消息人士告诉CBS新闻。
休斯未回应置评请求。
一位特朗普政府官员表示，尽管总统是赦免的最终决策者，但一些MAGA阵营的支持者，比如休斯，认为马丁是“他们获得赦免的最佳机会”。这位官员因未获公开授权而要求匿名。
司法部的一位发言人拒绝置评，将CBS新闻转介给马丁——马丁也未回复通过电子邮件发送的一系列问题。
How a company likened to a sex cult is lobbying Trump for pardons
April 29, 2026 / 5:00 AM EDT / CBS News
A company in San Francisco that prosecutors likened to a sex cult has embarked on a campaign to court allies of President Trump as it seeks pardons for its two convicted leaders, CBS News has learned through interviews and records.
OneTaste, a self-described “orgasmic meditation” company, is on the hunt for clemency for its former CEO and founder Nicole Daedone and former head of sales Rachel Cherwitz. In late March, a federal judge sentenced the two women to prison — nine years for Daedone and over six for Cherwitz — after their conviction in 2025 for forced labor conspiracy.
OneTaste has taken the traditional step of submitting pardon applications to the Justice Department for Daedone and Cherwitz, according to federal records.
But it is also adopting some of the elaborate back-channel protocols of a new, less-formal pardon process during Mr. Trump’s second term. The undertaking involves efforts to win support from allies of the president by approaching attorneys, political operatives, media figures, and others in his orbit — all part of a playbook used by others to land clemency since last January.
Nicole Daedone, founder and former CEO of OneTaste, center left, and Rachel Cherwitz, former head of sales for OneTaste, exit federal court in the Brooklyn borough of New York, on May 6, 2025. Yuki Iwamura / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Rachel Barkow, a law professor at New York University and expert on executive clemency, said OneTaste’s efforts to make outreach to MAGA allies and influencers shows how pardon-seekers increasingly navigate informal channels to get the president’s attention.
“It’s of a magnitude that I’ve never seen before,” Barkow told CBS News. “We don’t seem to have a functioning clemency process for everyone else who doesn’t have these connections.”
Daedone and Cherwitz, according to prosecutors, were behind an abusive scheme to coerce their staff into performing traumatic and demeaning tasks — including sexual acts — for little to no pay. Attorneys for the defendants argued that they led a women’s empowerment business and that OneTaste members could have left the group at any time. They have filed for appeal.
Helping quarterback this pardon effort is well-known defense lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who used his access to Mr. Trump during his first term to influence several acts of clemency. He said in an interview with CBS News that he believes the “indictment is so broad that it really endangers religious practices and religious freedom.”
During his second term, Mr. Trump has granted clemency to various allies who faced prosecution, as well as convicts who hired people in his orbit who helped broker the pardons or commutations.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said that anyone “spending money to lobby for pardons is foolishly wasting their money” and that the administration has a “robust pardon review process, which includes White House counsel, the Department of Justice and ultimately the president himself as the final decider.”
OneTaste paid Dershowitz to advise on its legal appeal, he said, adding that he has since helped the company pro bono because he supports its cause.
According to a source familiar with the outreach, OneTaste has also courted Matt Gaetz, the former Republican Florida congressman who faced a federal sex trafficking investigation, which did not result in any charges against him. Gaetz hosted a segment about the case on his One America News show, remarking that “nobody was forced or restrained or otherwise threatened to continue participating” in OneTaste events. Gaetz did not respond to requests for comment.
Another Trump ally who OneTaste sought in its efforts was political consultant Roger Stone, who talked about the case on his podcast. Stone told CBS News that he believes the Daedone and Cherwitz conviction “really raises serious constitutional issues.”
OneTaste also approached Steve Bannon and MAGA influencer Laura Loomer, sources close to OneTaste told CBS News. Bannon declined to comment about OneTaste. Loomer said she does not work on pardons and doesn’t recall the outreach. “I get so many calls,” Loomer told CBS News.
And to fight the case, OneTaste previously enlisted another MAGA-connected attorney, Adam Katz. He told CBS News that he sent a letter to the Justice Department pre-conviction that asked for a review of the prosecution. Katz has worked on several pardon cases during Mr. Trump’s second term, and he represented Rudy Giuliani in a defamation case over his efforts to overturn Mr. Trump’s loss in the 2020 election.
Anjuli Ayer, now the CEO of OneTaste, said that Daedone and Cherwitz have garnered support because of the prosecution’s “injustice.”
“You ask why so many people could see this and advocate for it,” Ayer told CBS News. “Not for money, but for the simple, plain fact that there’s a justice issue here.”
“Access to people in influential places”
OneTaste has taken other steps to curry favor with Republicans in Washington.
A former employee for the company, Marcus Ratnathicam, reached out on social media before Trump took office to Mike Howell — a close ally of Ed Martin, now the U.S. pardon attorney. Since then, Howell, who runs a nonprofit called the Oversight Project that investigates alleged government weaponization, has become a public advocate for Daedone and Cherwitz. His group published a report in January that highlighted the case.
Ratnathicam has also briefed members of Congress on the House Judiciary Committee — led by Republican Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan — about the OneTaste case, according to sources familiar with the matter. He has also discussed the case with the libertarian Cato Institute think tank and American Civil Liberties Union, the sources said. Ratnathicam declined to be interviewed.
Howell told CBS News that the Justice Department and Mr. Trump should “take corrective steps” to review the OneTaste case to ensure the convictions don’t set a precedent for more groups being targeted in the future. OneTaste and its allies have argued that members participated with the company voluntarily and consented to sexual activities.
Neither OneTaste, nor Ratnathicam donated to his nonprofit, Howell said, adding that he does not share donor records and “wouldn’t turn over private information from people in the government’s crosshairs.”
OneTaste has also found an ally in Cynthia Hughes, a close friend of Martin, who plays a central role in reviewing clemency decisions.
Hughes runs a nonprofit called Patriot Freedom Project, which argues that the OneTaste case was politically motivated. Martin served on the board of directors of her group and collected a stipend from it, according to his government financial disclosure.
In a blog post on its website, Patriot Freedom Project’s “Weaponization Watch” initiative says the OneTaste case “is weaponization of government and conservatives recognize that this type of legal theory will come for them next.” The post, which claims that Daedone and Cherwitz were targeted “for running a successful sexual wellness business based on voluntary association,” also includes quotes from Dershowitz and Stone discussing the case.
Hughes’ group also posted a https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7xVSCaE_tk on YouTube in January of Ayer, OneTaste’s now-CEO, talking about the prosecution — while giving a nod to MAGA. “We took the president’s mantra, ‘fight, fight, fight,’ and we followed it,” Ayer said. “But it was not enough to deter these prosecutors.”
Hughes has history with the pardon process — she advocated for Jan. 6 defendants before Mr. Trump’s pardons or commutations for people charged or convicted for their role in the Capitol riot in 2021.
Her organization also took credit for helping to secure Mr. Trump’s pardon last year of Michael McMahon, a former police officer convicted of acting as an illegal foreign agent and stalking. Martha Byrne, an actress and the wife of McMahon, told CBS News that she was introduced to Martin at an event hosted by Hughes at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
“Cynthia has been an amazing supporter and friend,” Byrne said. “I champion her work.”
Since last year, Hughes has attended at least seven meetings at the pardon office with Martin and other officials, according to visitor logs reviewed by CBS News. Ayer and Ratnathicam were at two of those meetings, in January and February 2026, the records show.
A spokesperson for OneTaste told CBS News that the company has not paid Hughes or donated to Patriot Freedom Project.
Regardless, OneTaste insiders said they are encouraged that Hughes has taken up Daedone and Cherwitz’s cause because of her close proximity to the pardon attorney.
“It is widely known that Cynthia has access to people in influential places, and it’s no stretch that anyone who can open doors is someone worth having as an ally,” a source close to OneTaste told CBS News.
Hughes did not respond to requests for comment.
A Trump administration official said that, while the president is the ultimate decider on pardons, Martin is viewed by some “with wants” like Hughes in the MAGA base “as their best chance” at securing any pardons. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to do so publicly.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment, referring CBS News to Martin directly — who also did not answer a list of emailed questions.
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