Senate Dem Bluntly Asks Trump Nominee Why President Would ‘Pardon Someone You Convicted’

Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) asked President Donald Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence why the commander in chief would pardon “someone you convicted,” referring to the pardon of convicted drug trafficker Juan Orlando Hernandez.

Clayton appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday for a confirmation hearing and he was pressed by lawmakers on several points when it comes to the president. Reed focused at one point on Trump pardoning Hernandez, the ex-president of Honduras who was sentenced in 2024 to 45 years behind bars for “conspiring to distribute more than 400 tons of cocaine” and related firearms offenses.

“In a speech in September last year, you highlighted the great successes of the Southern District of New York, specifically calling out, and I quote, the successful prosecution of the former president of Honduras and other high-level Honduran officials for narcotics trafficking and firearms charges for partnering with some of the largest and most violent cartels in the world to distribute tons of cocaine to the United States,” Reed noted to Clayton.

He then brought up Trump’s pardon in November 2025 of the same man whose conviction Clayton had been celebrating.

“Were you consulted about the pardon?” the senator asked Clayton.

“I’m not going to get into the pardon process here. The president’s pardon power, I think there’s only a few powers in our Constitution that are unreviewable and absolute. That’s one of them,” Clayton said.

“Are you aware of any quid pro quo regarding the pardon?” Reed asked.

“I’m not aware of any such thing,” Clayton said.

“Why would the President of the United States pardon someone that you had convicted and described as being involved in violent activities and allowing tons of cocaine to enter the United States?” Reed pressed.

Clayton refused to discuss a specific pardon, reiterating that it falls under the president’s authority.

“Well, it seems to me that all of the rhetoric that we have heard about fighting drugs and in fact we have killed over 200 people in the Caribbean and Pacific because they were not presidents of countries but minor dealers or transporters of heroin, and yet here is a kingmaker… who gets to walk,” Reed said.

Trump previously claimed he was told that Hernandez was a “setup” under former President Joe Biden.

“Well I was told– I was asked by Honduras, many of the people of Honduras, they said it was a Biden setup,” the president said. “I don’t mean Biden– look, Biden didn’t know he was alive, but it was the people that surround the Resolute Desk, surround Biden when he was there, which was about very little time, and the people of Honduras really thought he was set up and it was a terrible thing.”

Watch above via PBS NewsHour.

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