Reps. Matt Gaetz, Louie Gohmert, and others reportedly asked for pardons post-Jan. 6
The Jan. 6 committee dropped a huge bombshell during its fifth hearing on Thursday, revealing which GOP lawmakers allegedly sought presidential pardons in the wake of the Capitol riot.
Reps. Matt Gaetz (Fl.), Mo Brooks (Ala.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), and Scott Perry (Penn.) all requested pardons, according to testimony from Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio) also mentioned a pardon, but never directly asked for one, Hutchinson added. She also noted Gaetz and Brooks were pushing for a blanket pardon for those involved in a December meeting regarding Jan. 6.
Perry had previously denied the committee's account.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"The only reason I know to ask for a pardon is because you think you committed a crime," said Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who led the Thursday hearing centered around former President Donald Trump's attempts at pressuring the Justice Department to investigate the 2020 election.
In video testimony played during the hearing, ex-White House lawyer Eric Herschmann also said Gaetz had requested a pardon. "The general tone was, we may get prosecuted because we were defensive of, you know, the president's positions on these things," Herschmann said. "The pardon that he was discussing, requesting, was as broad as you could describe," he added.
Another ex-Trump aide, John McEntee, also told the committee Gaetz mentioned requesting a pardon, and that he had heard mutterings of a blanket pardon.
-
The environmental cost of GLP-1sThe explainer Producing the drugs is a dirty process
-
Greenland’s capital becomes ground zero for the country’s diplomatic straitsIN THE SPOTLIGHT A flurry of new consular activity in Nuuk shows how important Greenland has become to Europeans’ anxiety about American imperialism
-
‘This is something that happens all too often’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
-
US to send 200 troops to Nigeria to train armySpeed Read Trump has accused the West African government of failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks
-
Grand jury rejects charging 6 Democrats for ‘orders’ videoSpeed Read The jury refused to indict Democratic lawmakers for a video in which they urged military members to resist illegal orders
-
Judge rejects California’s ICE mask ban, OKs ID lawSpeed Read Federal law enforcement agents can wear masks but must display clear identification
-
Lawmakers say Epstein files implicate 6 more menSpeed Read The Trump department apparently blacked out the names of several people who should have been identified
