Democratic lawmakers reveal bribery scheme involving Trump administration officials

Democratic lawmakers reveal

bribery scheme involving Trump administration officials

According to Katie Porter :

a California Democrat, the House Natural Resources Committee is investigating a possible bribery scheme linked to different Trump administration officials that caused an amnesty for two farm owners previously convicted of setting fire to public lands.

Along with Representative Raúl Grijalva

an Arizona Democrat, Porter explained that a possible "bribery incident" had been discovered, and henceforth it had been linked with Mike Ingram, an Arizona developer.

The two deputies went on to request various documents from

the U.S. Department of the Interior that they believe highlight a new question about whether Ingram coordinated with some administration officials in order to secure the aforementioned pardon

for ranchers:

• Stephen and Dwight Hammond.

• The two men, his father's son

• were convicted of intentionally setting fire to public lands in 2012.

Having since become the first individual to

undergo a criminal referral by the House Committee on Natural Resources

Ingram has been making headlines online. Currently, Rep. Grijalva sits as chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and has served since earlier in 2022.

Ingram's case is also allegedly linked to a proposed real estate development project in Arizona, which appears to draw additional maps of an alleged bribery scheme in order to obtain federal approval.

Now :

• Porter and Grijalva have made allegations against Ingram

• alleging that he may have made an out-of-session donation to

• the Political Action Committee (PAC) to

after Stephen and Dwight Hammond were pardoned.

Back in May 2018

the representatives said that Ingram's executive assistant sent a condemning email to a senior deputy director of the Ministry of Interior, which included a written op-ed in support of pardons for livestock farmers.

Just a few weeks later

1. former Rep. Greg Walden
2. a Republican from Oregon
3. tweeted similar sentiments

and confirmed that he had spoken personally to Trump and claimed that the then president was "seriously considering" issuing a pardon.

ICYMI: It says

Rep. Katie Porter says the House Natural Resources Committee is looking into a possible bribery plan involving Trump administration officials that resulted in pardons for two farm owners convicted of setting fire to public lands.https://t.co/zS0msjZAjd

On July 2, just a day after Walden's tweet

a letter sent to Deb Haaland, the interior secretary, revealed that Ingram had donated $ 10 thousand to the first pro-Trump US labor organization.

Eight days later, on July 10, 2018, Trump pardoned Hammonds.

In this case

the political influence through financial donations seems to have been used to rewrite the rules of law for the benefit of one person," Porter said in an interview.

She also added :

Regardless of your political preferences

this pattern of behaviour is an attack on our fundamental principles of democracy.