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.
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"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.
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