The comments from Rep. Pete Aguilar, a Democrat, come as the House committee continues to hone its investigation into the Capitol riot
Trump’s comments over the weekend added fresh urgency to the committee’s work as the prospect of Republican control of Congress in 2023 and a potential reelection bid by Trump threaten to derail the investigation into the riot.
“Absolutely,” Rep. Pete Aguilar of California told CNN’s Brianna Keilar on “New Day” when asked if Trump was tampering with witnesses by dangling pardons in front of January 6 defendants. “And I think the question is more from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, you know where — where are they? Do they support this? When is enough enough?”
“And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons. Because they are being treated so unfairly,” the former President said.
“This is not a situation where I think he’s offering something of value to someone who is necessarily a witness but a potential defendant or an actual defendant,” Jenkins told CNN’s John Berman on “New Day.” “So, I don’t think this would qualify as witness tampering. But he is certainly putting his fingers on the scales. I’ll say that.”
Aguilar also told Keilar the committee is “trying to be deliberate and thoughtful” in asking former Vice President Mike Pence to testify when asked about seeking his testimony.
“We’re still taking witness testimony … but we are making significant progress with or without that testimony,” he said. “We’re not rushing to any, any decisions here. We are being respectful of the office. We’re trying to get testimony from individuals who were around the former vice president.”
He continued, “And we are still processing a lot of documents that the archives has sent. And obviously, in any interview we want to do, we want to be prepared. And that means we have to process the documents and get prepared for that — for that witness.”
The Justice Department has charged more than 700 people in connection with the attack on the Capitol.
This story has been updated with additional reaction and background information.
