Lawmakers brace for Trump’s promised Jan. 6 pardons. Some are urging restraint
WASHINGTON — The fourth anniversary of the January 6 The attack on the Capitol is taking on new focus as lawmakers brace for the prospect that President-elect Donald Trump will soon pardon many of the more than 1,500 people charged with crimes because of their actions related thereto the riot.
Trump said he would pardon rioters on “Day 1” of his presidency, which begins Jan. 20. “Most likely I will do it very soon,” he said. recently on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’. He added that “those people suffered long and hard. And there may be some exceptions to this. I have to look. But you know, if someone was radical, crazy.”
His promise, made during his campaign for the White House, shadows events Monday as lawmakers meet to certify a presidential election for the first time since 2021, then Trump’s supporters entered the Capitol and temporarily halted the certification of elections he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said she has spoken extensively with Trump and is lobbying him to pardon anyone who took part in the siege. Few Republicans go that far, but many believe it is appropriate for Trump to consider pardons on a case-by-case basis.
“Here we are almost four years later. Many of these people have been in prison since 2021. Even those who fought the Capitol Police, caused damage to the Capitol, I think they served their time and I think they should all be pardoned and released from prison,” Greene said. ‘Some of these people have received prison sentences: ten years, eighteen years and more. I think it’s an injustice. It is a two-tiered justice system, and it is time to end it.”
More than 1,250 people have pleaded guilty or been convicted following trials related to January 6, while more than 650 people have been given prison sentences ranging from several days to 22 years.
Many of those who broke into the Capitol echoed Trump’s false claims of election fraud. Some rioters menacingly shouted the names of prominent politicians — most notably then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and then-Vice President Mike Pence, who declined to attempt to object to Biden’s victory. Lawmakers who evacuated both chambers on Jan. 6 returned that evening to finish their work.
Police officers who defended the Capitol are particularly outraged by the possible pardons. Many officers were beaten, some with their own weapons, as they tried to hold back the crowd. There were approximately 140 officers injured on Jan. 6, making it “probably the largest mass attack on law enforcement in a single day” in U.S. history, Matthew Graves, the outgoing U.S. attorney in the nation’s capital, said has said.
“You cannot be pro-cops and the rule of law if you pardon people who betrayed that trust, injured police officers and ransacked the Capitol,” said Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, who retired because of his injuries after fighting rioters.
Some Republicans in Congress, even those closely associated with Trump, suggested that not all Jan. 6 offenders should be treated the same.
Rep. Jim Jordan, a key Trump ally who heads the House Judiciary Committee, said he supported some pardons but also drew a distinction.
“For people who haven’t committed violence, I think everyone supports that. I think that makes sense,” said Jordan, R-Ohio.
Veteran Republican Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., also wasn’t ready to go as far as Greene. “You have to look at it individually. Some probably deserve a pardon,” he said.
But he was more circumspect when asked whether those who attacked U.S. Capitol police officers should be among those pardoned.
“My goodness. Again, I would have to look at the scenario,” he said. “But if they were to attack the U.S. Capitol Police, that’s a big problem.”
Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said not every charge is the same and that people who committed the offense are a different category than those who entered the Capitol and damaged property. He said he believes Trump will look at each individual circumstance and decide what is appropriate.
“People who have attacked police officers, listen, I don’t think we should ever condone this,” Johnson said.
Democrats from the House of Representatives, who led the campaign accuse Trump on January 6 and conducted a comprehensive investigation into the attack, warning that the pardon could have far-reaching consequences both for the rule of law and the country’s security. Members of the extremist Oath Keepers And Proud boyswere convicted for it, for example seditious conspiracy and other crimes related to the uprising.
“I think anyone who loves peace and security would be offended if you pardoned people who attacked these individuals because they were doing their job,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. .
Thompson headed the House committee that investigated the events surrounding January 6. in conclusion with a report saying Trump “lit the fire” for the insurrection.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who served as chief impeachment manager during Trump’s second presidential campaign impeachment In the trial in which he was acquitted, it was said that if a pardon is to be granted, people should demand remorse and contrition from each of those pardoned, and an affirmative declaration that they pose no further threat to public safety.
“Because anything that happens by these people, in a political context or any other context, is essentially going to be laid at President-elect Donald Trump’s doorstep,” Raskin said.
Like police officers who protected them, lawmakers who were inside the Capitol during the attack are reacting viscerally to the pardon talk, having narrowly escaped a mob that seemed determined to harm them.
Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., who was trapped in the House gallery as rioters tried to break in downstairs, said it would be “extremely difficult” for him and many others if Trump moves forward with the pardon.
“I’m pretty controlled and pretty disciplined, but that would be very difficult,” Himes said. “Too many of us had very personal experiences with the people who are serving prison time or have been convicted.”
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Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.