House Democrats issued a subpoena Wednesday for Homeland Security documents over allegations that President Donald Trump promised pardons to people willing to break the law to build the border wall.
The House Judiciary Committee also subpoenaed acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan to testify.
“The dangling of pardons by the President to encourage government officials to violate federal law would constitute another reported example of the President’s disregard for the rule of law. Such a troubling pattern of obstruction of justice would represent a continuation of the misconduct identified in the Mueller Report,” House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said in a statement Wednesday.
“In the coming months the Committee intends to hold hearings and conduct additional oversight related to the issue of pardons as we move forward with our investigation into obstruction of justice, public corruption, and abuses of power by the President,” Nadler, a New York Democrat, continued.
The subpoena comes after reports that Trump — who is pushing his administration to more quickly build border wall before the 2020 election — allegedly promised White House staffers he would offer them a pardon if they ended up breaking the law in their attempt to rush the process.
House Judiciary Committee US Representative Jerry Nadler looks on during a press conference following the former Special Counsel’s testimony before the House Select Committee on Intelligence in Washington, DC, on July 24, 2019. (Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty Images)
The Washington Post published an article in late August that included claims from White House aides that Trump pledged to offer them pardons. Trump said the story was “fake.”
“Another totally Fake story in the Amazon Washington Post (lobbyist) which states that if my Aides broke the law to build the Wall (which is going up rapidly), I would give them a Pardon. This was made up by the Washington Post only in order to demean and disparage – FAKE NEWS!” the president tweeted a day after the story ran. (RELATED: DHS Chief: ‘We Have 3,000 People Already Deployed’ For Hurricane Dorian)
A spokesman for WaPo told the Daily Caller News Foundation it stands by its reporting.
Nadler brought up a possible recommendation for impeachment in his Wednesday statement.
“As the Committee continues its investigation into whether to recommend articles of impeachment, it is imperative that we are able to obtain information about ongoing presidential misconduct and abuses of power,” the representative wrote.
The committee is asking the DHS chief to speak before members on Sept. 17, according to a subpoena document.
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