Sign up for our newsletter.

Quality journalism. Progressive values. Direct to your inbox.

Follow us:

Join the small group of generous readers who donate, keeping Common Dreams free for millions of people each year. Every donation—large or small—helps us bring you the news that matters.

Please support non-profit Common Dreams today.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

There are less than 48 hours left in this Mid-Year Campaign and our independent journalism needs your help today.
If you value our work, please support Common Dreams. This is our hour of need.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

Join the small group of generous readers who donate, keeping Common Dreams free for millions of people each year. Without your help, we won’t survive.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

Brooks Gaetz

U.S. Reps. Mo Brooks of Alabama (left) and Matt Gaetz of Florida (right) are among the six Republican lawmakers who sought preemptive pardons for their roles in trying to subvert the 2020 presidential election, according to testimony heard at the House January 6 committee hearings on June 23, 2022. (Photo: Fox News screen grab)

House Jan. 6 Committee Reveals 'Seditious Six' GOP Lawmakers Who Sought Trump Pardons

"The only reason you ask for a pardon is if you think you've committed a crime," said one member of the congressional committee investigating the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Brett Wilkins

The House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol revealed Thursday that half a dozen Republican lawmakers sought preemptive pardons from then-President Donald Trump after they tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

According to the committee, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) emailed the White House five days after the deadly insurrection requesting preemptive pardons for Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), himself and "every congressman or senator who voted to reject the electoral college vote submissions of Arizona and Pennsylvania."

Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, said in a video deposition that Gaetz asked for blanket pardons starting in early December 2020. Hutchinson said that GOP Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), and Scott Perry (Pa.) also requested pardons. She also testified that she heard Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) asked the White House counsel's office for a pardon.

Responding to Thursday's revelations, committee member Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) opined that "the only reason you ask for a pardon is if you think you've committed a crime."

Last week, Rep. Pete Aguilar testified before the panel that right-wing attorney John Eastman, who espoused the baseless belief that then-Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to single-handedly reject President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory, also sought a preemptive pardon for his actions.

"'I've decided I should be on the pardon list' is one of the most incriminating, damning, guilty, and also dumb things a lawyer could ever put in writing. Literally," quipped MSNBC's Ari Melber in response to Eastman's request.

Several of the implicated Republicans denied asking for pardons.

"It is clear that deep-pocketed and vitriolic Socialist Democrats (with perhaps some liberal Republican help) are going to abuse America's judicial system by targeting numerous Republicans with sham charges deriving from our recent fight for honest and accurate elections," said Brooks.

Related Content

Former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen (L) and former Acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue (R) testify during the fifth hearing of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on June 23, 2022.

WATCH: Jan. 6 Hearing Highlights 'Brazen' Trump Attempt to Use DOJ to Overturn Election

Common Dreams staff

The January 6 hearings are now on hold until after House lawmakers return from recess on July 11. Committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) explained Wednesday that the delay is due to a "deluge of new evidence."

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Comments

Just a few days left in our crucial Mid-Year Campaign and we might not make it without your help.
Who funds our independent journalism? Readers like you who believe in our mission: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. No corporate advertisers. No billionaire founder. Our non-partisan, nonprofit media model has only one source of revenue: The people who read and value this work and our mission. That's it.
And the model is simple: If everyone just gives whatever amount they can afford and think is reasonable—$3, $9, $29, or more—we can continue. If not enough do, we go dark.

All the small gifts add up to something otherwise impossible. Please join us today. Donate to Common Dreams. This is crunch time. We need you now.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

Related

Latest News

See all
An abortion rights protester flies an upside-down U.S. flag

Naomi Klein: The US Is in the Midst of a 'Shock-and-Awe Judicial Coup'

"The rolling judicial coup coming from this court is by no means over," warned the author of "The Shock Doctrine."

Jake Johnson ·

Ed Markey

Markey, Bowman Join Climate Coalition in Urging SCOTUS Expansion

"We cannot sit idly by," said Markey, "as extremists on the Supreme Court eviscerate the authorities that the government has had for decades to combat climate change and reduce pollution."

Brett Wilkins ·

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks at a rally

Ocasio-Cortez Says US 'Witnessing a Judicial Coup in Process'

"It is our duty to check the Court's gross overreach of power in violating people's inalienable rights and seizing for itself the powers of Congress and the president."

Brett Wilkins ·

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about gas prices on June 22, 2022 in Washington, D.C.

Critics Say Biden Drilling Bonanza 'Won't Lower Gas Prices' But 'Will Worsen Climate Crisis'

"President Biden's massive public lands giveaway in the face of utter climate catastrophe is just the latest sign that his climate commitments are mere rhetoric," said one campaigner.

Kenny Stancil ·

Voting rights rally

Grave Warnings as Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Case That Threatens 'Future of Voting Rights'

"Buckle up," implores one prominent legal scholar. "An extreme decision here could fundamentally alter the balance of power in setting election rules in the states and provide a path for great threats to elections."

Brett Wilkins ·

Common Dreams Logo

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.