Jordan talked pardons, never asked for one
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan allegedly talked with the White House about pardons for members of Congress over Jan. 6 but never requested one for himself, according to testimony shared Thursday by the House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection.
The committee revealed an email from Rep. Mo Brooks, R-ala., to the White House recommending that President
Donald Trump issue pardons to U.S. representatives and senators who rejected election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Thursday was the fifth hearing detailing the panel's findings about the Capitol attack and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Officials also played video testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who said multiple members of Congress had directly asked for pardons in the aftermath of the attack.
"Mr. Jordan talked about congressional pardons, but he never asked me for one," Hutchinson said of the Urbana Republican. "It was more for an update on whether the White House was going to pardon members of Congress." Hutchinson said those who did request pardons included Brooks and Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida.
A spokesman for Jordan referred a reporter to a tweet from the House Judiciary GOP calling Hutchinson's testimony "100% fake news." Jordan is the ranking Republican member of that committee.
Thursday's testimony came as Jordan continues to defy a subpoena from the committee over his conversations with Trump and his allies leading up to the Jan. 6 attack. Chairman Bennie Thompson previously gave Jordan until Jan. 11 to comply with the subpoena.
Haley Bemiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other news organizations across Ohio.