Two Democrats question whether Trump’s pardon of Hammond ranchers resulted from alleged bribe

The entrance to the Hammond Ranch. July 2018 (Beth Nakamura)
  • 452 shares

Two Democrats from a Congressional committee have sent a letter to the U.S. Interior Secretary seeking documents to determine whether former President Donald Trump pardoned two eastern Oregon ranchers, Dwight Hammond Jr. and son Steven Hammond, after receiving a campaign donation from an Arizona real estate developer.

In their letter Friday to U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources and a subcommittee chair wrote that material obtained from another inquiry suggested that real estate developer Michael Ingram used his “unique access” to high-ranking Trump administration officials to advocate for the Hammond pardons.

On May 25, 2018, Ingram’s executive assistant sent an email to a top official in the Department of Interior, advocating for the Hammonds’ pardon, including two articles on the case and an op-ed calling for the pardons, according to the letter.

On July 1, 2018, Oregon’s U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, a Republican, issued a message on his Twitter account that said, “President Trump called me to say he is ‘seriously considering’ pardoning” the Hammonds.

The next day, Ingram made a $10,000 donation to the Super PAC America First Action, Inc.

The America First Action, Inc., political action committee, according to the letter, describes itself as “dedicated to supporting President Trump,” as the only “Official Pro-Trump Super PAC.”

On July 10, 2018, Trump signed pardons for both Hammonds.

Ingram made only one other $10,000 donation during the 2017-2018 non-presidential election cycle, according to the letter.

The committee chair Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, D-Ariz., and Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., chair of its subcommittee on oversight and investigations, wrote that the timing of the donation raises a significant concern about a “potential case of bribery” and warrants further investigation.

The letter requests all communications relating to Dwight Hammond Jr. or Steven Hammond between Ingram, any White House personnel and lawyers who represented the Hammonds, including Portland attorney Lawrence Matasar and Portland’s Ransom & Blackman law firm.

Lanny J. Davis, one of the lawyers representing Ingram, denied any inappropriate actions by Ingram.

“I know Mike Ingram personally and as the head of a company I have represented – and I have no doubts about his integrity and honesty,” said Davis, attorney for Ingram and his El Dorado Development company.

“This allegation of a connection between Mr. Ingram’s support for a pardon, which was supported by others in the Oregon ranching community, and any political donation Mr. Ingram made is baseless – another example of innuendo accusations of a crime unsupported by facts.”

In May, the committee made its first-ever criminal referral to the Justice Department, also in a matter concerning Ingram and the Trump administration, according to the letter. The committee then cited concerns about former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt reversing himself on a clean water permit for the Villages at Vigneto, an Ingram development project, shortly after Ingram donated about $250,000 to the Republican National Committee and Trump’s reelection campaign. Davis has denied any wrongdoing by Ingram in that case as well.

Dwight Hammond Jr. and son Steven Hammond walked out of a federal prison in California and stepped off a private jet in Burns on July 11, 2018, after receiving pardons from the former president. They had been convicted of arson and were serving out five-year mandatory minimum sentences for setting fire to public land where they had grazing rights. Both were convicted of setting a fire in 2001, and the son was convicted of setting a second fire in 2006.

Matasar, who was part of the legal team that petitioned the White House to commute the Hammonds’ sentences, said he had no contact with Ingram.

The father and son’s return to Burns came two and a half years after protesters marched through the city in the middle of southeastern Oregon’s high desert to denounce their impending court-ordered return to prison in January 2016. The case inspired the 41-day armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Susie Hammond, reached Monday, said she didn’t know of a Michael Ingram. She said her husband, Dwight Hammond Jr., was not at home but “out feeding cows.”

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

X

Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information

If you opt out, we won’t sell or share your personal information to inform the ads you see. You may still see interest-based ads if your information is sold or shared by other companies or was sold or shared previously.