GOP senators led by Graham slam Trump Jan. 6 pardon promise

9/12/2022

RawNews1st – Former President Trump’s promise to grant pardons to the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is running into strong opposition from Senate Republicans. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of Trump’s closest allies, told The Hill that granting pardons to Jan. 6 protesters is “a bad idea.”

“Pardons are given to people who admit misconduct, rehabilitate themselves. They’re not supposed to be used for other purposes,” he said.

Other Republican senators are joining Graham in criticizing Trump’s promise to pardon the Jan. 6 protesters as inappropriate.

“I don’t think potential candidates should hold pardons out as a promise,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), who is usually a reliable Trump ally. “It’s somewhat problematic for me on a moral level and an ethical level — sort of like promising other giveaways to particular individuals.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said he wouldn’t support granting pardons to people convicted of crimes because of their actions on Jan. 6.

“If he were elected, he would have a constitutional ability to do it,” he said of Trump’s promise of pardons. “I would disagree with it. I think there was insurrection and I think these folks need to be punished.

“I was there. This was truly violent. People were injured, people were killed. I have very little mercy for the individuals that were involved in that activity that day,” Rounds added.

Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) said people who committed crimes on Jan. 6 must face the consequences of their actions.

“The only people that get pardoned are people who are charged with crimes. If they were charged with crimes, they ought to be prosecuted like everybody else,” he said. “The rule of law applies. If people broke laws, they need to be held accountable.”

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who voted last year to impeach Trump on the charge of inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6, said pardoning people who invaded the Capitol to stop Biden’s election would be wrong.

“The Jan. 6 riot was an attack on the temple of democracy, and the people who violated the law, attacked our law enforcement and besmirched our nation’s Capitol should be prosecuted according to the law, and certainly should not be pardoned,” he said. “It’s a grossly inappropriate comment to make.”

Not every Republican is quick to dismiss the idea of a pardon.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) who raised a fist to protestors outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, before he and other members of Congress were evacuated during the insurrection, is more open to the idea of granting leniency to pro-Trump protesters.

“Let’s see which ones he would choose to do,” Hawley said of the prospect of Trump pardoning Jan. 6 protesters if he wins another term in the White House. “There’s no question it has been a massive prosecutorial effort.“

He and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who both led objections to the Electoral College tally in January 2021, argue the Department of Justice (DOJ) is punishing Trump supporters who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 much more aggressively than the rioters who destroyed property at Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2020.