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….