The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the Department of Homeland Security Wednesday for information related to Donald Trump's alleged pardon offers for officials who break laws while implementing his immigration agenda. Trump has denied dangling those pardons and his aides say Trump was just joshing about the offer, though they didn't deny reports of Trump's comments.
"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," Judiciary chair Jerry Nadler said in a statement.
House Democrats have launched multiple investigations into Trump, but Nadler has said his panel is explicitly weighing whether to report impeachment articles to the full House. Some Democrats expect the committee will draft impeachment articles soon after returning from recess. This week, Judiciary Democrats broadened the scope of their inquiries to include not only the Homeland Security pardon offers but also Trump's involvement in the hush-money scheme for which his former lawyer Michael Cohen is now serving a three-year sentence.
The list of items Democrats are seeking related to the alleged pardon offers includes any legal opinions or internal memos related to pardons or enforcement of immigration law, contemporaneous notes taken at key meetings by key players such as acting DHS secretary Kevin McAleenan and former secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and the names of everyone present at key meetings between White House and Homeland Security officials.
Regardless of any criminal wrongdoing, that would offer a treasure trove of information about Trump’s immigration policies, who masterminded them, and who enthusiastically embraced and implemented them.
