The Jan. 6 committee revealed the names of GOP colleagues who allegedly sought pardons from former President Donald Trump after the 2020 election.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) blasted his colleagues during the fifth public hearing by the House Jan. 6 committee on Thursday and played a clip from a deposition in which former White House aides testified that Reps. Mo Brooks (R-AL) Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Scott Perry (R-PA), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) pursued a pardon.
ACTOR AND ACTIVIST SEAN PENN ATTENDS HOUSE JAN. 6 COMMITTEE HEARING
“If you’re innocent, you’re probably not going to go out and seek a pardon,” Kinzinger said.
Rep. Jim Jordon (R-OH) “talked about” pardons, but “he never asked me for one,” Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows testified.
“The general tone was, ‘We may get prosecuted because we were defensive of the president’s positions on these things,'” she recounted.
Gaetz had also allegedly sought a blanket pardon for individuals who attended a Dec. 21, 2020, meeting about the election in the White House.
Jan. 6 committee plays testimony revealing that Reps. Brooks (AL), Biggs (AZ), Gaetz (FL), Gohmert (TX), Greene (GA) and Perry (PA) sought pardons.@RepKinzinger (R-IL): “The only reason I know to ask for a pardon is because you think you’ve committed a crime.” pic.twitter.com/yrArap5rTd
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 23, 2022
Kinzinger cited an email Brooks sent days after the Capitol riot in which he requested a pardon. In his email, Brooks sought a pardon for himself, Gaetz, and members of Congress who voted against certifying electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Perry previously denied allegations that he pursued a pardon from Trump and reaffirmed his position in a statement obtained by the Washington Examiner.
“I stand by my statement that I never sought a Presidential pardon for myself or other Members of Congress. At no time did I speak with Miss Hutchinson, a White House scheduler, nor any White House staff about a pardon for myself or any other Member of Congress — this never happened,” he said.
Gohmert responded with a statement taking aim at the Jan. 6 committee’s “propaganda.”
“I had and have nothing for which to seek a pardon and my requests were for others unassociated with government in Washington, DC. Any assertion to the contrary is unequivocally and maliciously false. Any Committee Members or witness involved should be ashamed for perpetuating such a falsehood, but that would require a conscience to feel such shame,” Gohmert said.
Biggs accused the panel of deceptively editing Hutchinson’s testimony but did not elaborate further.
“The unAmerican January 6 Committee continues to pursue me with the false allegation that I sought a presidential pardon. To the extent Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House staffer, believes I requested a presidential pardon, she is mistaken,” he said. “Today’s video testimony from Ms. Hutchinson was deceptively edited to make it appear as if I personally asked her for a presidential pardon.”
My response to the false allegation made about me in today’s illegitimate Jan. 6 Committee hearing: pic.twitter.com/oxA1lIpemd
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) June 24, 2022
Greene took to Twitter to try to highlight ambiguity in the testimony.
“Saying ‘I heard’ means you don’t know. Spreading gossip and lies is exactly what the January 6th Witch Hunt Committee is all about,” she tweeted.
Saying “I heard” means you don’t know.
Spreading gossip and lies is exactly what the January 6th Witch Hunt Committee is all about. pic.twitter.com/Z30AJd4tSX
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene?? (@RepMTG) June 23, 2022
A spokesperson for Brooks appeared to confirm the authenticity of the email referenced in the hearing.
“The email request says it all. There was a concern Democrats would abuse the judicial system by prosecuting and jailing Republicans who acted pursuant to their Constitutional or statutory duties under 3 USC 15,” the spokesperson said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
When asked for comment, a spokesperson for Gaetz referred the Washington Examiner to a tweet in which he chastised the committee. He did not directly address the question of whether he sought a pardon in that tweet.
“The January 6 Committee is an unconstitutional political sideshow. It is rapidly losing the interest of the American people and now resorts to siccing federal law enforcement on political opponents,” Gaetz tweeted.
The January 6 Committee is an unconstitutional political sideshow. It is rapidly losing the interest of the American people and now resorts to siccing federal law enforcement on political opponents.
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) June 23, 2022
The committee amassed evidence that Trump considered dolling out pardons to a “wide range of individuals” connected to him, Kinzinger said. The Illinois congressman contrasted that with praise for the Justice Department officials who stood their ground against Trump after the election as he sought to overturn the results.
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“My colleagues and I up here also take an oath,” he said. “Some of them failed to uphold theirs and instead chose to spread the ‘big lie.'”
The hearing Thursday centered on Trump’s efforts to pressure the Justice Department to pursue his claims of election fraud. On Wednesday, the panel announced it will delay its remaining public hearings until next month.
