WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 03: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) speaks during a news conference to announce the "Green Real Deal" on April 3, 2019 in Washington, DC. The "Green Real Deal" is a resolution intended to serve as a response to the "Green New Deal" promoted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA). The "Green New Deal" acknowledges climate change and says the government should promote innovation to prevent greenhouse gas emissions. (Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images)
Prominent Republican members of Congress asked former President Donald Trump for pardons, according to Thursday’s public hearing held by the House select committee that has been investigating the January 6 Capitol attack for the past 11 months.
The lawmakers listed included Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Arizona), Mo Brooks (R-Alabama), Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania). Each of the named pardon seekers were members of the House Freedom Caucus which was headed by Trump-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows when he was a member of the House. They have all maintained their innocence.
“The only reason I know to ask for a pardon is because you think you have committed a crime,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois), who is one of two Republicans on the committee, said of his colleagues.
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Former Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson and White House lawyer Eric Herschmann singled out Gaetz as someone who had requested a pardon as early the beginning of December.
“The general tone was, ‘We may get prosecuted because we were defensive of the president’s positions on these things,'” Herschmann said. “The pardon that he was discussing, requesting, was as broad as you could describe.”
The fifth public hearing held by the committee also centered around Trump’s pressure on the Justice Department to stand behind his claims of election fraud.
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