House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and 18 Republican panel members have asked Attorney General Loretta Lynch to answer questions about President Obama’s clemency grants to 46 federal drug offenders. The members said they are concerned that Obama has used his pardon power “to benefit specific classes of offenders, or for political purposes.” They contend that the Justice Department's clemency program “continues this Administration's plainly unconstitutional practice of picking and choosing which laws to enforce and which to change.”
Lawmakers are seeking detailed information “about the criminals released under the clemency program, such as information about gang affiliation, if they were convicted for a firearms possession offense in addition to the drug offense, and the criminal history of each offender.” The letter was signed by Republicans Mike Bishop (MI), Ken Buck (CO), Steve Chabot (OH), Jason Chaffetz (UT), Doug Collins (GA), Blake Farenthold (TX), Randy Forbes (VA), Trent Franks (AZ), Louie Gohmert (TX) Trey Gowdy (SC), Jim Jordan (OH), Steve King (IA), Tom Marino (PA), Ted Poe (TX), John Ratcliffe (TX), Jim Sensenbrenner (WI), Lamar Smith (TX), and Dave Trott (MI).