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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.
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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 video 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.
