{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://nadler.house.gov/press-release/judiciary-democrats-urge-goodlatte-hold-hearings-trump%E2%80%99s-threat-abuse-his-pardon-power", "Judiciary Democrats Urge Goodlatte to Hold Hearings on Trumps Threat to Abuse His Pardon Power", "2017-12-18", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "NY", "Jerrold Nadler", "N000002", "nadler.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.  House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), today led a letter signed by every Democratic Member of the House Judiciary Committee to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, urging him to hold hearings on Trumps threat to abuse his pardon power.\nIn their letter to Chairman Goodlatte, the Members wrote, As you know, Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation has directly implicated several of President Trumps closest advisorsincluding Mr. Flynn, who has pleaded guilty to a single count of lying to the FBI and pledged to cooperate with the investigation as it moves forward.\nThe Committee must anticipate the possibility that, as the investigation develops, it may further implicate additional White House officials, the Presidents family, and perhaps even the President himself. President Trump, by sending a signal that he may pardon Michael Flynn and perhaps others willing to assist Mr. Mueller, has raised serious concerns about obstruction of justice and abuse of the pardon power\nThe issue of abuse of the pardon power need not be a partisan issue. In fact, in 2001, our Committee held a hearing on the question of President Bill Clintons use of the pardon power. We ask for the same type of forum to discuss both the Arpaio pardon and the Presidents stated willingness to consider pardoning Mr. Flynn and perhaps others implicated in the Russia investigation.\nThe letter was signed by every Democratic Member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, including: Representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Karen Bass (D-CA), Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), David Cicilline (D-RI), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Brad Schneider (D-IL).\nFull text of the letter to the House Judiciary Committee Chairman is available here and below.\nThe Hon. Robert Goodlatte\n\t\t\t\t\tChairman\n\t\t\t\t\tHouse Judiciary Committee\n\t\t\t\t\t2138 Rayburn House Office Building\n\t\t\t\t\tWashington, D.C. 20515\nDear Chairman Goodlatte:\nWe write to request that the Committee hold hearings concerning President Donald Trumps threat to abuse his pardon power.\nOn December 15, 2017, when asked if he would pardon former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, President Trump responded: I dont want to talk about pardons for Michael Flynn yet. We will see what happens.[1]\nAs you know, Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation has directly implicated several of President Trumps closest advisorsincluding Mr. Flynn, who has pleaded guilty to a single count of lying to the FBI and pledged to cooperate with the investigation as it moves forward.[2] The Committee must anticipate the possibility that, as the investigation develops, it may further implicate additional White House officials, the Presidents family, and perhaps even the President himself. President Trump, by sending a signal that he may pardon Michael Flynn and perhaps others willing to assist Mr. Mueller, has raised serious concerns about obstruction of justice and abuse of the pardon power.\nAs we have previously written, it is imperative that we seek to understand the full extent of Russias efforts to influence our democratic institutionsincluding the theft of information from the Democratic National Committee and certain campaign officials, the targeting of at least 21 state election systems, and the manipulation of social media platforms to sow disinformation and divide the American people. According to a remarkable amicus brief filed this week by fourteen former national security officials, the Russian governments objectives are clear: to undermine confidence in democratic leaders and institutions; sow discord between the United States and its allies; discredit candidates for office perceived as hostile to the Kremlin; influence public opinion against U.S. military, economic, and political programs; and create distrust or confusion over sources of information.[3] It would be irresponsible for our Committee to continue to ignore this threat, or any threat to the Special Counsels work in this regard.\nAs you may recall, every Democratic Member of the Committee wrote to you in August to request an oversight hearing on President Trumps controversial pardon of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.[4] We never received a response to this request. Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) raised the issue again at last weeks hearing with Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein, noting that we also have not held a hearing on how President Trump sidelined the Office of the Pardon Attorney to pardon a serial human rights abuser who bragged about running a concentration camp in Arizona.[5]\nThe issue of abuse of the pardon power need not be a partisan issue. In fact, in 2001, our Committee held a hearing on the question of President Bill Clintons use of the pardon power.[6] We ask for the same type of forum to discuss both the Arpaio pardon and the Presidents stated willingness to consider pardoning Mr. Flynn and perhaps others implicated in the Russia investigation.\nFor these reasons, we urge you to hold hearings on this threatened abuse of the pardon power as promptly as possible.\n\n[1] Trump doesnt want to talk about Flynn pardon yet, Assoc. Press, Dec. 15, 2017 (emphasis added).\n[2] Josh Gerstein et al., Flynn pleads guilty to lying to the FBI, Politico, Dec. 1, 2017.\n[3] Brief of Former National Security Officials as Amicus Curiae in Support of Neither Party, Cockrum v. Trump, No. 1:17-cv-1370-ESH (D.D.C. Dec. 8, 2017). See also Natasha Bertrand, Former high-level officials submit unusual Russia brief in lawsuit against Trump and Roger Stone, Business Insider, Dec. 14, 2017.\n[4] Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr., et al., to Chairman Bob Goodlatte, H. Comm. on the Judiciary, Aug. 30, 2017.\n[5] Hearing with Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, before the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, Dec. 13, 2017 (statement of Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler).\n[6] Presidential Pardon Power, before the Subcomm. on the Constitution of the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, Feb. 26, 2001.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://nadler.house.gov/press-release/judiciary-democrats-urge-goodlatte-hold-hearings-trump%E2%80%99s-threat-abuse-his-pardon-power"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0583458933979273, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}