RFK Jr. and Lee Zeldin pressed by Democrats on possible roles in Trump pardons

Washington — Democratic lawmakers are pressing Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to explain what role they may have played in pardons granted by President Trump.

Democratic lawmakers have limited options to compel answers while they are in the minority, but capturing the House or the Senate in the midterm elections would give them subpoena power to pursue a broad range of investigations into the Trump administration. The letters highlight how questions about Mr. Trump's pardons — and the cottage industry of lobbying that has sprung up around them — are expected to be a top oversight area for Democrats if they win in November.

The Democrats' letters focus on Mr. Trump's pardons for Trevor Milton, an entrepreneur convicted in 2022 of lying to investors about his electric truck company Nikola, and Troy Lake, a Colorado diesel mechanic convicted in 2024 for violating the Clean Air Act, a law designed to control air pollution.

The oversight letter to Kennedy cited a Reuters report in June that said Kennedy advocated for Milton's pardon to the president.

A source close to Kennedy, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, told CBS News they have heard the secretary privately say that he will not advocate for any pardons. The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Milton.

Lawmakers are gearing up for investigations next Congress into "everybody along the assembly line of clemency for cash," Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said last month. Blumenthal is the ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which has broad authority to probe "inefficiency, mismanagement, and corruption in government."

In their letter, the Democratic lawmakers cited a statement from Lake's wife that appeared to credit Zeldin with intervening to get his pardon in front of the White House.

A senior EPA official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly, disputed that Zeldin advocated for the Lake pardon.

The letters asked for any details about Kennedy and Zeldin's possible relationships with either Milton or Lake, and if the Trump administration officials advocated for any other pardons.

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