With President-elect Donald Trump set to take office in less than a week, members of the Jan. 6 Select Committee and White House are privately discussing whether to issue presidential pardons to lawmakers who served on the panel, according to lawmakers and sides.
In an interview, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who chaired the Jan. 6 committee, said he spoke to the White House counsel’s office last month about the issue. Thompson noted that he hadn’t talked directly with President Joe Biden on the topic, but the veteran Mississippi Democrat said he’d accept a pardon if offered.
“I believe Donald Trump when he says he’s going to inflict retribution on this,” Thompson said on Monday night. “I believe when he says my name and Liz Cheney and the others. I believe him.” Thompson and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the panel’s vice chair, were recently awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by Biden.
As recently as last week, Biden said he’s considering preemptive pardons for high-profile Trump critics. However, the communication between the White House and some committee members on this topic hasn’t been previously reported. Members who served on the panel haven’t asked Biden for a pardon, though we’re told others have lobbied the White House to grant them.
Thompson noted that members have some legal protection under the Speech or Debate Clause, a constitutional privilege that prevents lawmakers from executive-branch action over legitimate legislative activities.
Yet Thompson is concerned that Trump could use other means to strike back at Jan. 6 committee members beyond pressuring the Justice Department to prosecute them.
“A lot of people have said if this guy [Trump] said he’s going to do things, believe him,” Thompson said. “If the president offered a pardon based on the work of the committee, Bennie Thompson would accept it.”
Thompson added that he wanted to see the newly released report from former Special Counsel Jack Smith. Smith asserted that if Trump didn’t win the presidential election, he would’ve been convicted on federal criminal charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election results in order to stay in power.
November call. Thompson and some other Jan. 6 committee Democrats, as well as former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), held a private call in late November to discuss how to navigate a post-Trump victory. The topic of possible Trump retaliation — and whether they or others will need legal protection — came up during the call, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussion.
But the group is split over whether a pardon is necessary or if they even want one. Some members believe lawmakers are already sufficiently protected under the Speech or Debate Clause. Others worry the optics of accepting a pardon might suggest they’re admitting wrongdoing and would decline a pardon if offered.
Some sources close to the issue also don’t think a Biden pardon is going to happen at this point.
The White House declined to comment on the issue.
Thompson and Cheney, as chair and vice chair, are probably the most vulnerable to Trump’s wrath. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), another committee member, is said to be concerned about Trump targeting her, according to sources familiar with the issue.
Those who have spoken to Cheney told us she’s fully expecting Trump to come after her. But a spokesman for the former congresswoman said in a statement: “There is nothing to be pardoned for.”
The GOP strategy. House Republicans used their majority over the last two years to try to absolve Trump of any Jan. 6-related wrongdoing. GOP lawmakers have made clear they plan to keep the issue alive in the 119th Congress as well with Trump returning to office.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), the chair of a House Administration subcommittee, led an investigation into the work of the Jan. 6 Select Committee and released a report on Dec. 17 recommending that Cheney be investigated by the FBI over her role on the panel. Republicans claim Cheney had improper communication with star Jan. 6 investigation witness Cassidy Hutchinson, a former Trump White House aide who delivered explosive testimony to the select committee.
Hutchinson’s lawyer responded to Loudermilk on Monday, calling the report a “politically motivated attempt to rewrite history using fabricated allegations,” according to a copy of the letter obtained by Punchbowl News. The letter laid out a detailed rebuttal of the allegations in the report, defended Hutchinson’s communications with Cheney and said Hutchinson stands by every word of her testimony.