Sens. Patrick Leahy Patrick Joseph LeahyBipartisan representatives demand answers on expired surveillance programs Democrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court Battle over timing complicates Democratic shutdown strategy MORE (D-Vt.) and Sheldon Whitehouse Sheldon WhitehouseThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as 'totally brilliant' Feinstein 'surprised and taken aback' by suggestion she's not up for Supreme Court fight Hillicon Valley: Murky TikTok deal raises questions about China's role | Twitter investigating automated image previews over apparent algorithmic bias | House approves bill making hacking federal voting systems a crime MORE (D-R.I.), two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, are pressing the Department of Justice to answer questions about President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE’s pardons of U.S. soldiers accused of war crimes.

The Democratic senators want to know whether the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney was involved in the decisions to pardon soldiers accused of unlawful military executions, including fatal shootings of unarmed civilians.

They also asked whether the Justice Department issued any advice or recommendations to the White House and whether it coordinated at all with the Department of Defense, where senior officials were initially opposed to the pardons.

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“While the president possesses broad pardon powers, these pardons were issued in the face of strong opposition from senior military officials, who warned that such pardons would undermine the U.S. military justice system and shake faith in our military’s commitment to abide by the laws of war,” the senators wrote in a letter to Rosalind Sargent-Burns, the acting pardon attorney at the Justice Department.

The lawmakers sent their letter Tuesday after Secretary of Defense Mark Esper Mark EsperOvernight Defense: Stopgap spending measure awaits Senate vote | Trump nominates former Nunes aide for intelligence community watchdog | Trump extends ban on racial discrimination training to contractors, military Overnight Defense: Pentagon redirects pandemic funding to defense contractors | US planning for full Afghanistan withdrawal by May | Anti-Trump GOP group puts ads in military papers Official: Pentagon has started 'prudent planning' for full Afghanistan withdrawal by May MORE fired Navy Secretary Richard Spencer after Spencer attempted to negotiate a deal with the White House to keep the president from intervening in the controversy over Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher.

Gallagher was acquitted of shooting unarmed civilians and killing a captured teenage combatant with a knife but convicted of posing with a corpse.

Trump announced last week that he would not let the Navy strip Gallagher of his Trident pin, which signifies membership in the elite SEALS combat force.

The president earlier this month also pardoned Army First Lt. Clint Lorance, who was serving a 19-year prison sentence at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas for killing two unarmed civilians, and Army Major Matt Golsteyn, who was charged with illegally executing a suspected bomb maker.

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“When President Trump’s plan to intervene in these cases was first reported in early November, the Department of Defense was so alarmed that Secretary of Defense Esper and other senior military officials reportedly orchestrated a lobbying effort to dissuade the President from doing so. The Pentagon’s concerns about President Trump’s pardons have been echoed by many respected U.S. military figures,” Leahy and Whitehouse wrote.

The senators want to know whether the White House reached out to Justice’s pardon attorney for advice, as well as the timing of such outreach if it occurred.

They also asked whether the pardon attorney provided any recommendations to the White House on the three cases and, if so, the details and rationales for those recommendations.

“The President’s pardon powers are virtually absolute. That is precisely why safeguards must be in place to ensure that they are wielded judiciously – institutional safeguards like your office, which exists to ensure that the President’s pardon powers are exercised fairly and in the interests of justice,” Leahy and Whitehouse wrote.

The senators have asked for answers to their questions no later than Dec. 13.