Wyoming spokeswoman Liz Cheney’s presentation at a House of Representatives hearing on Thursday (January 6th) revived speculation about the extent to which her colleagues at the Republican House of Representatives conference played a role in the violent attack on the Capitol and whether someone may face criminal charges as a result.
Ms Cheney, vice-chairwoman of the elected committee, made a bomb in her opening remarks when she revealed that countless Republicans in the House of Representatives had pressured then-President Donald Trump to pardon them in the days after the worst attack on the Capitol since the war of 1812
She said a member of the House, Pennsylvania’s Scott Perry, had appealed to the White House for clemency in the weeks between the attack and the expiration of former President Donald Trump’s term on January 20, 2021.
Mr Perry, who, although a spokesman called his colleague’s accusation a “ridiculous, ridiculous and completely heartless lie”, had played a leading role in a scheme in which Mr Trump would replace then-Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen with loyalist Jeff Clark. .
Ms Cheney said Mr Trump “wants Mr Clark to take a number of steps”, including “sending”. [a] a letter to Georgia and five other states stating that the U.S. Department of Justice has “identified significant concerns that may have affected the outcome of the election.”
According to her, the content of the letter is a “lie”.
Mr Clark referred to his Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination during his submission to the elected committee, but Mr Perry refused to appear and attacked the committee, calling it “illegitimate”.
But Mr Perry was not the only Republican in the House of Representatives to contact the White House for clemency after the attack.
Ms. Cheney went on to say that “many other Republican congressmen” have contacted the White House in the waning days of the Trump administration in hopes of receiving pardon for unspecified actions that they say have led them to be charged with crimes.
Ms Cheney did not reveal which of her colleagues had asked for clemency after the uprising, but other figures linked to the events of January 6 have released several names.
Ali Alexander, a right-wing operative and provocateur who organized one of the Stop theft rallies near the Capitol that day, said publicly that he had worked with two Republicans, Mo Brooks of Alabama and Paul Gossar of Arizona.
They both denied any coordination with Mr Alexander, but Mr Brooks was also one of the speakers at the White House rally leading up to the riots, telling those present that it was time to “start kicking her ass”.
Another Republican member of parliament who may have asked for clemency is Georgia’s Barry Laudermilk.
Last month, the elected committee asked Mr. Loudermilk to testify about a tour he allegedly led on January 5, 2021, the day before the Capitol attack.
New Jersey spokesman Mickey Cheryl and 33 other Democrats said in a letter in January 2021 that “visitors” they had encountered to tour the day before the riot “seemed to be connected” to the White House rally. which Mr. Trump called on his supporters to “fight like hell” just before a group of them began attacking Capitol police, noting that the rebels “seemed to have unusually detailed knowledge of the layout of the Capitol complex.”
Although the Capitol and the House and Senate office buildings associated with it are known to be difficult to navigate, the crowd of Mr. Trump supporters seems to be moving easily through the labyrinthine complex after entering through broken windows and doors with forced doors. .
Members of the violent extremist group known as the Guardians of the Oath appear to be familiar with the Byzantine network of tunnels that runs under the Capitol and its adjoining office buildings.
In court documents, prosecutors claim that one of the members of the group sent an encrypted message during the attack, in which he told the conspirators that the deputies were “in the tunnels under the capital. [sic]And called on the recipient to “seal” them and “turn on the gas”.
Another message sent when members of the Chamber were moved to safety secure the accused rebel that “all lawmakers” are “down in the tunnels, [three] floors down ”.
The rebels also managed to find their way to the private offices of some high-ranking lawmakers – colloquially known as “shelters” – although the doors of such offices are unmarked and their seats are heavily guarded.
In May 2021, Mr. Loudermilk led a group of Republicans on the House of Representatives’ administrative committee, which filed an ethical complaint against Ms. Sherril and flatly denied allegations that a member had conducted “reconnaissance tours” of the complex.
However, the committee’s letter to Mr Loudermilk noted that the committee had examined evidence which “directly contradicted[ed]”His denial that he has toured in any way. He later claimed that the tour he led was simply a group of voters.
Representatives of Mr Brooks, Mr Gossar and Mr Loudermilk did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Independent.
Under Article II of the US Constitution, presidents have the right to “grant deferment and pardon for crimes against the United States, except in cases of impeachment,” which means any crime that can be prosecuted by federal courts.
This power, rooted in the British sovereign’s ability to pardon violators, has also been used by past presidents to prevent prosecution before charges are brought.
Two notorious cases of preventive pardons have been issued by President Gerald Ford, who pardoned Richard Nixon for “all the crimes against the United States that he … [had] committed or may have committed or participated in the period from January 20, 1969 to August 9, 1974 “, although Nixon was not charged by President Jimmy Carter, who in 1977 granted full pardon to every American, who was illegally evading military service during the Vietnam War.
Accepting a presidential pardon after conviction exempts a person from any punishment that may have been imposed, such as imprisonment or denial of the right to vote or to possess a firearm.
Accepting preventive pardon means that a person cannot be prosecuted in federal court for a crime.
But under US law, accepting pardon – even as a precaution – means that the recipient also admits that he or she has committed the crime for which he or she received it.
Democrat Eric Suwell tweeted shortly after Ms. Cheney detonated the bomb, writing: “If you haven’t done anything illegal, why would you need a pardon?”
His former colleague, former Illinois Republican Joe Walsh, also joined in, writing: “Many Republicans in the House have asked for Trump’s pardon. I can’t stop thinking about it. “
And Missouri spokeswoman Corey Bush, one of the lawmakers who attended Thursday’s hearing, told The Independent that “who, even representatives,” should be “sought” if “part” of the violence in this day.
“They need to be investigated, if they were part of it, they need to be expelled because this is section three of the 14th amendment,” she said. Referring to a section of the US Constitution that prohibits anyone involved in “insurrection or rebellion” against the United States from holding federal office.
“They should not be in office. And then, depending on what they have done, if they have to go further, then they have to be persecuted, “she added.
Steve Vladek, a law professor at the University of Texas who is an expert on federal courts, made a similar observation a little later.
“The headline is that many Republican congressmen have asked for a pardon from President Trump. But history is the reason why they felt the need to do so, “he wrote.
Eric Garcia contributed to the report
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