At the time, McAleenan led U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

AD

“These allegations, if true, would represent a grave breach of duties of the president,” the two Democrats wrote. “Congress has an independent constitutional duty to provide oversight of the administration of government by the executive branch.”

AD

The request follows reports by CNN and the New York Times that Trump told McAleenan to stop allowing migrants to claim asylum at the U.S. border — then promised he would pardon him should he find himself in legal jeopardy for breaking the law. It was unclear how serious Trump was, according to the reports.

The Washington Post was not able to independently confirm these two reports.

The Judiciary panel has been investigating whether Trump has abused his power and engaged in public corruption. The chairmen suggested in their Tuesday letter that the reported allegations fall squarely into their probe, following what they called “a troubling pattern of conduct that has emerged over the past two years that appears to demonstrate that President Trump views the pardon power as a political tool, or even worse, as an expedient mechanism for circumventing the law or avoiding the consequences of his conduct.”

AD

AD

While the two Democrats went on to acknowledge the vast expanse of the president’s pardon power, they argued that under the Constitution, the president is required to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”