BORDER/DEMS/IMMIGRATION/PARDONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Top Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee requested information Tuesday [4-16-19] related to President Donald Trump’s reported offer to pardon a top border official if he acted illegally to block asylum seekers. Multiple media outlets reported Friday [4-12-19] that Trump earlier this month told Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan he’d pardon him if he broke the law to deny migrants the ability to petition for asylum. It wasn’t clear whether the president intended the remark as a joke, and Trump denied later that day on Twitter that he ‘offered pardons to Homeland Securi[t]y personnel in case they broke the law.’ News of the pardon offer followed Trump’s announcement last week that former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen would step down from her post and be replaced in an acting capacity by McAleenan. The dismissal was part of a department purge as the White House seeks to stem the flow of Central American migrants to the U.S. The number of border crossers arrested in recent months rose to the highest levels in more than a decade and likely will increase during the warmer months ahead.”
–Ted Hesson, “Judiciary Democrats seek details on Trump’s reported offer to pardon border chief,” Politico, April 16, 2019 4:25 pm