Former Trump aides in the White House testified before a committee on Jan. 6 that six Republicans in the House of Representatives have asked for the president’s pardon following the Capitol uprising.
Why it matters: The testimonies were reproduced at the end of a hearing that included new details about lawmakers’ involvement in former President Trump’s efforts to put pressure on the Justice Department to investigate his allegations of voter fraud.
- Representative Scott Perry (R-Pa.) In particular was a supporter of the appointment of Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, a strong believer in Trump’s allegations, as acting attorney general.
Driving the news: According to the assistants who testified, the following members requested pardon:
- Representative Scott Perry (R-Pa.)
- Representative Matt Goetz (R-Fla.)
- Representative Mo Brooks (R-Ala.)
- Representative Louis Homert (R-Texas)
- Representative Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.)
- Representative Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.)
Details: Brooks sent an email to the White House asking for a “universal (universal) pardon” for himself, Goetz and the 147 members of the Republican House and senators who voted against the certification of Arizona and Pennsylvania voters, according to a member of the representative Adam Kinsinger (R-Ill.).
- Cassidy Hutchinson, who serves as assistant to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, testified before the panel that she had personally heard from Biggs and Homer.
- Hutchinson also said she heard Green turn to the White House attorney’s office for clemency. She said spokesman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) “spoke of … an apology, but never asked me for one.”
What they say: “The general tone was, ‘We can be tried because we defended the president’s position on these things,'” former White House attorney Eric Hershman said in a closed-door testimony.
- “The only reason I know to ask for pardon is because you think you have committed a crime,” said Adam Kinzinger, who is leading the hearing.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to show that Perry supports the installation of Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, not Jeffrey Rosen, as acting attorney general.
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