Republican lawmakers sought Trump pardons on heels of Jan. 6 Capitol riot, committee told

According to testimony and evidence presented Thursday at the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot, up to a half-dozen Republicans who supported Donald Trump in the 2020 election sought pardons from him.

John McEntee, a former White House aide, said that Trump talked about issuing blanket pardons to members of his family and staff before he leaves office.

The only reason I can think of to ask for a pardon is if you think you committed a crime.

Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to White House Chief of Staff MarkMeadows, said that five GOP House members requested pardons from Trump.

She named them as Mo Brooks of Alabama, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Louie Gohmert of Texas, and Andy Biggs.

Excerpts from an email by U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows asking for pardons for members of Congress are shown on a screen during the fifth public hearing of the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 23, 2022.

The White House counsel's office had received a request for a pardon from a Georgia lawmaker.

In an email to the White House that was displayed at Thursday's hearing, he asked for pardons for himself and Gaetz, as well as for every congressman and senator who voted to reject the electoral college submission of Arizona and Pennsylvania.

A special joint session of Congress convened to confirm the Electoral College victory of President Joe Biden was disrupted by a mob of Trump supporters who swarmed through the halls of Congress.

Hutchinson said that Gaetz began seeking a pardon in December 2020.

A video displays a discussion about Presidential pardons during the fifth hearing by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol in the Cannon House Office Building on June 23, 2022 in Washington, DC.

Eric Herschmann, a former White House lawyer, said in his testimony that the general tone was "we may be prosecuted because we were defensive of the president's position on these things"

Herschmann said that the pardon he was requesting was as broad as possible.

Gaetz blasted the committee in a post after the hearing, saying he was under criminal investigation.

When asked if he had asked for a pardon, his office did not reply.

Gaetz said that the January 6 Committee is unconstitutional. It is losing interest in the American people and is now trying to get involved in politics.

It wasn't clear whether she sought a pardon, but her office did not deny it.

You don't know if you say "I heard" or "You don't know". The January 6th Witch Hunt Committee is all about spreading gossip and lying.

A video of US Representative Mo Brooks (R-AL) is shown on a screen during the fifth hearing by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC, on June 23, 2022.

In his videotaped testimony, McEntee was asked if Trump considered issuing a blanket pardon to everyone.

Mc Entee said he had heard that.

He was asked if he was aware that Trump was talking about pardoning family members. They were senior White House advisors.

McEntee thinks that he had for all the staff and everyone involved a blanket pardon. He had talked about that before he left office.