Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, reacted to the news that President Trump is planning on officially giving Lt. Gen. Micahel Flynn (Ret.) a pardon before leaving office.
Axios was the first to report about the potential incoming pardon since Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts during Robert Mueller's investigation.
"As you know well, Michael Flynn pleaded guilty then tried to withdraw those guilty pleas. He cooperated with the Mueller investigation, then uncooperated. Now CNN is reporting that the president is considering pardoning him and soon, what message would that send?" CNN anchor John Berman asked.
"Well, it would send a message that at least as far as President Trump is concerned, if you lie on his behalf, if you cover up for him, he will reward you, he will protect you, but only if he thinks it’s in his interest," Schiff said.
"There are others that lied for him that he’s not going to extend that kind of service to. But it just frankly reflects so ill on our democracy, on the United States. Imagine what people around the world think when we have a president who’s acting like an organized crime figure. But this is who Donald Trump is. It’s — it’s who he was on his way into the presidency, it will be exactly who he is on his last days of the presidency," he continued.
Schiff said he believes the presidential pardon power "very broad and subject to abuse" and Trump has given examples of the power being misused. Schiff also said federal investigations into Trump once he leaves office should be viewed "on a case-by-case basis."