Pardon the Jan. 6 Defendants: Will He or Won’t He?
[guest post by Dana]
Another will he or won’t he is the issue of pardoning the Jan. defendants. In March, Trump wrote:
“Free the January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned!” Trump wrote in March on his Truth Social platform. The new president-elect was asked over the summer at the National Association of Black Journalists forum in Chicago if he would pardon the rioters.
“Oh, absolutely, I would. If they’re innocent, I would pardon them,” Trump said during the contentious interview. Trump has, however, qualified the pardons, saying that they would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. He told a CNN town hall, “I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can’t say for every single one, because a couple of them probably got out of control.”
Today, former former Vice President Mike Pence offered his opinion on whether the President-elect should issue a pardon:
“At the end of the day, I’ll always believe that, by God’s grace, we did our duty [on January 6] to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America,” Pence said according to Dispatch on social media.
“I don’t think the president should pardon anyone who assaulted a police officer at the United States Capitol on January 6,” added the former vice president, who was forced to seek refuge that day with his family as pro-Trump rioters — some of whom were chanting “Hang Mike Pence” — breached the building.
Only those who assaulted police officers? Really?
And displaying utter naïveté or total denial (you choose), Pence continued:
“Karen and I are literally praying that President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Vance will stand on the commitments that they will make when they raise their right hands on that day. And with God’s grace and the support of the American people, I believe they will,” Pence added, expressing hope for the incoming administration.
I’m almost speechless, and have but one question: Has this guy ever met Donald Trump??
Another aspect to the question of whether Trump will pardon the Jan. 6 defendants, is that many are requesting a delay in their court appearances, given Trump’s campaign pledge to pardon them if he were elected:
In court filings reviewed by CBS News, defense attorneys asked federal judges in Washington, D.C., to postpone proceedings in some of the Jan. 6 cases until 2025, when President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
However, former federal prosecutor Scott Fredericksen poured water on the postponement of proceedings:
[H]e thinks the Justice Department is going to be forced to confront the question of what to do with the cases.
“The department will probably say, ‘We’re going to continue with the cases,’ and that the discussion of pardons is not sufficient to warrant delays,” Fredricksen said.
—-Dana
Hello.
Dana (bec1d0) — 11/12/2024 @ 2:15 pmYes. Yes, he will pardon them all.
whembly (477db6) — 11/12/2024 @ 2:38 pmSure, why not, they did nothing wrong, only love.
Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 11/12/2024 @ 2:41 pmDoes anybody really know what time it is does anybody really care?
asset (d873a2) — 11/12/2024 @ 2:53 pmI very much hope no pardons go to violent individuals. Simple trespassing is one thing, but trying to kill police officers is quite another.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 11/12/2024 @ 2:57 pmHe will pardon all those except those convicted of violence, or planning it.
Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 11/12/2024 @ 4:02 pmAssumes facts not in evidence.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 11/12/2024 @ 4:03 pmNo, that’s what Trump said he would do, and he will probably try to stick to that commitment for political reasons (rather than go ahead and fulfill Democratic scaremongering)
Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 11/12/2024 @ 4:11 pmLOL!
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 11/12/2024 @ 4:15 pmI’ll put it this way…I’ll be irritated if he pardons the lawbreakers who illegally entered the Capitol but committed no violence to property or person, but I’ll be furious if he pardons the vandals and assaulters, which is a slap in the face of law enforcement who put their lives on the line, trying to stop a riot.
Paul Montagu (509661) — 11/12/2024 @ 4:16 pmI expect he will pardon those who are still in prison, since they would benefit most from it than someone who was convicted of misdemeanor trespass.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 11/12/2024 @ 4:18 pmDepends on how motivated his staff are to get the paperwork done.
Nic (120c94) — 11/12/2024 @ 4:43 pmI’m sure they will be very motivated, since their jobs will depend on pleasing the boss.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 11/12/2024 @ 4:45 pmI expect he will pardon those who are still in prison, since they would benefit most from it than someone who was convicted of misdemeanor trespass.
The ones still in prison deserve to be in prison. The ones who have convictions for non-violent acts may not be in jail but their lives have been badly impacted. A pardon goes a long way towards fixing that.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 11/12/2024 @ 5:59 pmYou never know. One of these guys could be the next FBI Director.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 11/12/2024 @ 6:01 pmOh, and no way should be there any pardons for the yahoos convicted of seditious conspiracy, which is worse than smacking Capitol Police with a flagpole.
Paul Montagu (509661) — 11/12/2024 @ 6:06 pmNope. That’s a plain read of what Trump was quoted by this post as saying, actually. And that’s evidence. Up to the reader to weigh credibility.
You’re really bad at trolling, DCSCA.
Dustin (4b502c) — 11/12/2024 @ 7:12 pm@Rip@13 Trump has no loyalty to anyone but himself and he doesn’t have a lot of follow through. It might happen, but if he thinks he can get away with just saying he will but never really does, that might happen too.
Nic (120c94) — 11/12/2024 @ 8:23 pmI think it’d be a day 1 thing.
He’s going to have so many EOs queue’ed up for day 1, it’s going to be like the bottom 3rd of people looking to be outraged…ya know…be outraged.
One thing I’m not sure of… is if he’d pardon himself on day 1, if Tanya Chutkan does what Mr. Frey opined in keeping the case ‘suspended’ till the next administration.
whembly (477db6) — 11/13/2024 @ 6:19 amLet’s review how the 2020 BLM rioters were punished. The J6 rioters should be punished according to the same standards. How many of them received jail time for basically the same offenses?
As fact-checkers have helpfully explained, it’s absolutely false to say the 2020 rioters were not punished. They were punished. In the same way that if I sold you my car for $1 it would be absolutely false to say that I gave it away for free.
mikeybates (1af238) — 11/13/2024 @ 6:50 am