Trump with Mark Meadows.
Mark Meadows ‘did seek that pardon, yes ma’am,’ Hutchison testifies
Mark Meadows, former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, sought a presidential pardon related to last year’s January 6 insurrection, Cassidy Hutchinson told members of Congress during sworn testimony on Tuesday.
Hutchinson, who served as Meadows’ special assistant, testified during a last-minute hearing of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.
Asked by Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the panel’s vice chair, if Meadows ever indicated that he was interested in receiving a pardon related to January 6, Hutchinson responded that he “did seek that pardon, yes ma’am.”
That confirmation came just after Hutchinson testified that Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani also sought a pardon.
The panel last week identified the “seditious six” House members who sought preemptive pardons from Trump after they tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election results: GOP Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Mo Brooks (Ala.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), and Scott Perry (Pa.).
Noting the full list, the advocacy group Public Citizen said Tuesday: “You know who doesn’t ask for pardons? Innocent people.”
That sentiment was echoed last week by Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.)—the only Republican on the committee other than Cheney—who said that “the only reason you ask for a pardon is if you think you’ve committed a crime.”
