At pardoning ceremony, Trump jokes turkeys have been subpoenaed
President Trump issued the turkey "Butter" a full and complete pardon in the Rose Garden Tuesday, in keeping with the annual White House tradition, while also sparing the life of the other turkey, "Bread."
Alluding to Democrats' ongoing impeachment inquiry, the president joked that both turkeys "already received subpoenas to appear in Adam Schiff's basement on Thursday."
"Thankfully, Bread and Butter have been specially raised by the Jacksons to remain calm under any condition, which will be very important because they've already received subpoenas to appear in Adam Schiff's basement on Thursday. It's true," the president joked. "Hundreds of people have. It seems the Democrats are accusing me of being too soft on turkey. But Bread and Butter, I should note that unlike previous witnesses, you and I have actually met. It's very unusual. I expect this pardon will be a very popular one with the media. After all, turkeys are closely related to vultures. I don't know if I like that line, but there is a little truth to it."
As the president was about to step into the Rose Garden for the event, the House Judiciary Committee announced it would hold its Judiciary Committee to hold first impeachment hearing on December 4. Mr. Trump is scheduled to be in London for NATO's 2019 summit that day.
The White House allowed the public to vote on which turkey should be pardoned and named the National Thanksgiving Turkey.
The turkeys will spend the rest of their days at Gobblers Rest at Virginia Tech, where last year's pardoned turkeys, Peas and Carrots, are still "alive and well," according to a spokesman for the school's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Last year, the president made an election joke out of the turkey pardoning, which came shortly after the 2018 midterms. Peas was then declared the winner of the White House poll, which the president deemed a "fair and open election." Carrots, the president joked, "demanded a recount, and we're still fighting with Carrots."
Bread and Butter are from North Carolina and were raised in a barn as part of the "presidential flock." They rested at their hotel room in the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington before heading to the White House.
