Five GOP Congressmen Asked Trump For Pardons Related To Jan. 6 Activities

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.

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.