PRESIDENT’S ORDERS: Here’s what Rep. Mo Brooks says Donald Trump told him to write
Less than a week after the Capitol riot, Congressman Mo Brooks (R-AL) sent an email to the White House with instructions that he claims he received from then-President Trump on how he and other GOP politicians could seek pardons for their role in the January 6th attempted coup.
Yesterday, Brooks sent CBS News a copy of the email which was originally addressed to Molly Michael, the Special Assistant to the President and Oval Office Operations Coordinator at the time.
CBS News Chief Election and Campaign Correspondent Robert Costa posted a copy of the Brooks letter, dated January 11, 2021, on Twitter. It shows that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was seeking a pardon from Trump prior to anyone else.
“It is clear that deep-pocketed and vitriolic Socialist Democrats (with perhaps some liberal Republican help) are going to abuse America’s judicial system by targeting numerous Republicans with sham charges deriving from our recent fight for honest and accurate elections and speeches related thereto,” Brooks wrote to Michael.
“As such, I recommend that President give general (all purpose) pardons to the following groups of people:”
“Every Republican who signed the Amicus brief in the Texas lawsuit against other states deriving from their violation of Article I, Section 4 (and, perhaps, other) provision of the United States Constitution.”
“Every Congressman and Senator who voted to reject the electoral college vote submissions of Arizona and Pennsylvania.”
You can view the entire letter here:
And he texted this: "The email request says it all. There was a concern Democrats would abuse the judicial system by prosecuting and jailing Republicans who acted pursuant to their Constitutional or statutory duties under 3 USC 15…”
— Robert Costa (@costareports) June 23, 2022
The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell provided additional details about Brooks’s conversation with Trump prior to sending the email.
Brooks says he had multiple conversations with Trump about pardons for GOP members and senators. Trump told him to put it in writing so the White House could evaluate it, and he did.
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) June 24, 2022
126 Republican members of the U.S. House signed onto the brief seeking to invalidate the results of other state’s results. The lawsuit was initiated by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was indicted in 2015 for federal securities fraud. An FBI investigation against Paxton was opened in 2020 after complaints from former deputies that Paxton had abused his office. It was rumored that Paxton had hoped filing the Amicus brief would secure him a Presidential pardon. It didn’t.
Brooks is one of seven Republican congresspeople revealed to have sought pardons for their roles in the insurrection and attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. Gaetz is under investigation for sex trafficking, and Greene narrowly escaped being kept off the ballot when voters filed a lawsuit under Article Three of the 14th amendment – which “prohibits those who had “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same [United States], or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof” from serving in the government.”
After previously refusing to cooperate with the January 6th Committee, once public hearings revealed his attempts to secure a pardon – Brooks now says he’s willing to testify when public hearings resume in July, stipulating that he’ll only answer questions related to January 6th, wants to see any documents beforehand, and that “My basic requirement is it be in public so the public can see it — so they don’t get bits and pieces dribbled out,” according to CNN
This letter further proves that those involved in the coup attempt knew what they were doing was wrong, and that they sought absolution for it. Unfortunately for them, it never came. Instead, the twice-impeached ex-President chose to pardon others like hip-hop star Lil’ Wayne and Jared Kushner’s dad. No pardons for the Sedition Caucus and none for Texas Attorney General Paxton. No pardons for the hundreds of insurrectionists arrested prior to Trump leaving office.
Loyalty to Trump is a one-way street. And for Brooks and his coup conspirators, that street seems like it could be headed straight to prison.
Follow Ty Ross on Twitter @cooltxchick
