Washington (CNN) House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said President Donald Trump showed "contempt" for the law when he told a top administration official he would pardon him if he were jailed for defying the law.

"This just shows the President's contempt for law, another instance of the President's contempt for law," Nadler said on CNN's "State of the Union" with Jake Tapper.

Nadler said the move was "exactly contrary" to the President's key duty to execute the law.

"That's the main job of the President, to see that the laws are faithfully executed," Nadler said. "And for a president to sabotage that goal by deliberately seeking to break the law is unforgivable."

Nadler's comment came in response to a report from CNN that Trump told then-head of the Customs and Border Protection agency that he would pardon him if he faced jail for denying entry to migrants. Trump has since named the official, Kevin McAleenan, the acting head of the Department of Homeland Security.

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